by Norman W Wilson, PhD
Epistemology is the formal study of knowledge: what it is, whether we do or don't have it, and how we get it.
Even before Greek philosopher Plato, Parmenides had come to understand that between knowledge and reality are the appearances of reality—which may very well be quite different from reality itself.
And herein lies a problem that has plagued modern epistemology—that seeming gap between reality and mere appearance. What is suggested here has become nearly sacrosanct: we know the appearances of things, but not the reality behind them.
Substances are that which underlie all of the various properties of things. Properties are never the substances themselves that we experience. This inability to experience the nature of the substance itself begins the embarrassment of metaphysics.
French philosopher Rene Descartes dropped a bomb with his method of doubt; the goal being to move from doubt to knowledge and certainty. This is a significant shift in the paradigm. Descartes' method of doubt does not depend upon the data of experience, but entirely upon the process of reason.
It is at this point that Descartes makes one of his more famous philosophical statements. He wondered whether he could be dreaming all of his experiences. He states, "There are no certain indications by which I may clearly distinguish wakefulness from sleep." He then promptly tells us that he is to doubt everything until he finds that one principle that is beyond all doubt: That principle is the fact that he exists. His "I think, therefore I am" resonated throughout the world of philosophy changing not only philosophical inquiry, but the world of science and even the world of art.
Norman W Wison and his wife Suzanne are Camano Island residents. This essay used by permission from the author. His website is http://www.shamanicmysteries.com
That was really interesting. I have always loved philosophy.
Posted by: Mercedes | 05/27/2010 at 09:45 PM