PHI 2010 Fall 2010: Comments on Papers
'The
only real wisdom is knowing that you know nothing.'...A clear meaning
of what Socrates meant to say on his famous quote was that men indeed
have a knowledge and criteria of the society and world they live in,
however there is no certainty on that knowledge but you can feel
confident on it.
Beware of the
temptation to improve the work of great writers. If you are pointing
out what someone meant to say, in clearer language, the implication is
that they didn't express themselves very well, and that you can do
better. But Socrates' quotation seems perfectly clear to me. The
proposed explanation is less clear. What exactly is meant by 'criteria'
in this context? I have the criteria of my society - for what? Then we
are told that there isn't any certainty, but you can have confidence.
But what is the difference between certainty and confidence? Why can I
have the former but not the latter? I can think of ways to explain
this, but more explanation needs to be given. In any case, I'm really
not sure that this is what Socrates was trying to say. The student is
saying that we do indeed have knowledge - but that sounds like the
opposite of what Socrates said "...you know nothing." It could be that
Socrates was so stupid that, when he was trying to explain that we know
lots of things, he said that we know nothing by mistake. Or it could
just be that he meant exactly what he said.
External
knowledge is more dangerous since one can tell you and teach you about
a certain thing but they may be tricking you or they may not be so sure
themselves. It is for the best sometimes to discover things for
yourself or do things on your own so you know what is and what is not
true. This is why some people don't learn when they are warned not to
do something. Some people just have to learn the hard way...
I'm being given
two pieces of advice that pull me in contrary directions, but the
writer doesn't seem to realize that. Sometimes it is
indeed good to check out what other people tell you -
the song says 'They all laughed at Christopher Columbus, when he said
the world was round', but you can't always believe what songs say -
everyone knew the world was round (the disagreement other people had
with Columbus
concerned the size of the world, and therefore the distance to India).Some people don't
listen - they have to learn the hard way. You tell them to look both
ways before the road, but they don't believe you. So they get killed in
car crashes - that is how you learn the hard way. That example
suggests relying on other people's advice is essential to staying
alive. Testimony, like any other source, can be dangerous to accept
when it is wrong, but dangerous to ignore if it is right - and there
are some warnings that it is better not to test. (There are crocodiles
in the Panama Canal - do not attempt to pet them! They eat
people! Seriously! If you decide to check for yourself whether this is
correct, by petting a crocodile, you really are stupid.)
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