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Christian Tractatus
(Text as at 12/08/2007 10:17:46)
No knowledge is certain.
- All statements about the world are only more or less probable.
- Any proposition of reason1 may turn out to be false due to confusion of ideas or to errors of calculation or logic.
- Any apparent fact of experience may turn out to be false due to delusion, carelessness or, where at second hand, to misunderstanding in transmission or even to mischievous intent.
- However, there are many propositions, both of reason and experience, that, for practical purposes are indubitable.
- That all things are to some degree doubtful does not imply that they are all equally doubtful, nor does it recommend a thoroughgoing scepticism or a limp agnosticism.
- There are, however, many areas in which it is more candid to profess ignorance than knowledge and others in which there is very considerable doubt2 as to the truth.
- Because we hold that no knowledge is certain, we must clarify what we mean by truth3.
- A requirement of great importance, therefore, is the ability to assign a probability4 to any statement about the world (or within a model), in accord with the likelihood of it being a true statement.
- Anything of a miraculous nature should be accorded a very low a priori probability, otherwise it would not be categorised as a miracle5.
- We must note that beliefs are not held in isolation, but form a network of interconnected beliefs commonly called a world view6.
Note last updated |
Reference for this Topic |
Parent Topic |
12/08/2007 10:17:46 |
174 (Certainty) |
CT Introduction |
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