Knowledge and truth were considered absolute and immutable by these two, though for very different reasons, which is the complete antithesis to the empirical theories of Popper, Peirce, Kuhn, and James. The progression of knowledge in the face of such certainty could only result in pure growth from previously established claims, as no truth could ever be said to exist that was not thoroughly and absolutely proved by careful extrapolation from a priori conclusions.
Several interesting anthropological occurrences have convinced me that the empirical method, with its possibility for the adjustment of truth based on the framework or paradigm from which the determination of truth is made, is a much better way of understanding truth and the concept of "absolute certainty." Cultures exist that have no concept of, or words for, time. "Yesterday" and "today" are meaningless concepts that do not exist. The extreme difficulty of communication that this presented suggests that immutable and universal truth is a false concept, even when it comes to basic worldview.
Foucault, Pinter, and Truth Differentiated
The four empiricist philosophers discussed above are by no means the only philosophers of the past century to have tackled the notion of truth. They all approached the matter from basically scientific perspectives. As they are primarily concerned with the hunt for empirical evidence and facts, it follows quite reasonably that their conceptions of truth would be based on a scientific -- that is, a cautiously and skeptically certain -- worldview. Other conceptions of truth, of course, come from very different perspectives and lead to different conclusions.
Michel Foucault saw truth as primarily, perhaps even solely, a construct and reflection of the various interconnected power structures that exist in a given moment. Though this is somewhat analogous to Kuhn's concept of cultural/scientific paradigms, Foucault's view is far more politically motivated. There is no conscious manipulation of the paradigm in Kuhn's theory, but this is the hallmark of Foucault's. Playwright and Nobel laureate Harold Pinter's views on truth are similar in perspective to Foucault's, though there are significant differences. He, too, sees truth as something that can only be approached but never fully achieved, but makes a careful and impassioned distinction between truth in art and truth in politics.
This distinction was important, though not quite as explicit, for Foucault as well. In his work Truth and Power, Foucault asserts that knowledge and truth are the result of established and sanctioned discourses. The power structures that maintain and perpetuate these discourses, then, are the creators and arbiters of truth. These discourses extend into every aspect of life and even our sense of self, Foucault argues, meaning that not only is there no such thing as absolute objective truth outside the existing power structures -- as these power structures pervade every aspect of reality, perception, and knowledge -- but there is not even a subjective self that can be defined independently from the surrounding power structures. Not just truth, but reality in general, is created by the power structures that both consciously and unconsciously manipulate truth to their own advantage -- i.e. To their own continued power. Though lacking (a little) in the paranoia, Foucault's conception of truth and power is very Orwellian.
Harold Pinter does not seem to feel as constrained by the power structure he perceives as Foucault. Though his comments concerning the differences of truth in art and in politics lead to the same general (and highly oversimplified)...
Two belief systems, then -- true believe, and justified true belief (Hauser, 1992). Humans, however, according to Pierce, turn justified true beliefs into true beliefs by converting them into axioms. Once we have proven something there is no need to prove it again, and we use the part that was proven before to further extend our study and the inquisition of knowledge. And so it becomes necessary to accept things
Philosophy and Psychology of the Mind and Body Throughout human history, philosophers, doctors, and most recently, psychologists, have attempted to understand the relationship between the mind and body and how it results in human beings' awareness and perception of reality. At least since the golden age of Greek philosophy, thinkers have been aware of an ostensible distinction between the mind and body, a distinction that nonetheless allows for some intermingling such
Truths by Mortimer Adler. Review current literature. Mortimer Adler was a man who made significant contributions to the field of education The following information is provided to create a better understanding of the man and his writing. Mortimer Adler is known for his many contributions to the field of education and philosophy. Throughout his professional and personal life, he was consumed with the desire to learn and to teach others. His approach
5. Kant's "Copernican Revolution" in philosophy is in his genius use of the positive aspects of Rationalism (Descartes and so on) and Empiricism (Locke, Berkeley and Hume). How can you argue this out with the help of the "Critique of Pure Reason"? The human experience of negotiating the universe as it seems to be presented to us is one governed by a great many assumptions. Our education of this process, and
As for the example of the Christian parents -- in their belief system they believe that they are telling their adolescent the truth when they say that God exists, just as surely as Nietzsche believes that God is dead. They can affirm their faith to their child, but they cannot force him or her to believe in God. The truth, in this case, is subjective, and what is 'true' is
However, when looking more closely at the specific philosophy suggested by Socrates, a more specific view appears to suggest itself. Socrates appears to favor the view that true knowledge is only possible once the soul separates itself from the body. For Socrates, the sense, i.e. touch, hearing, sight, taste, and smell only distract what he refers to as the "soul" from truly experiencing the nature of the external world. According
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