by Matthew Ryan

Created on: October 11, 2007

Yes, I believe it does. Ever since Descartes, Global Doubt has been a tool used off and on by many philosophers. Some think that it is too strong, that it leaves nothing for us to be certain of. Others, like myself, believe it is necessary, that through it we can establish absolute certainty in a small number of things. True knowledge implies the impossibility of being wrong. In other words, it can't be doubted. Are there any such things? I say yes, and I put forth as examples the following: the existence of the Self ("I think, therefore I am"), pure mathematics, and pure logic.

Doubting such things as these seems totally incomprehensible to me. Without the existence of the Self, the word "I" has no meaning. The phrases "I think" or "I see" or "I do" degenerate into nonsense. Doubting the "I" seems almost childish to me. It is akin to saying "But how do you know?" to every statement uttered without bothering to reflect on the statement to ascertain its meaning. Likewise, doubting simple mathematical claims such as 1+1=2 seems equally silly. There is actually a mathematical proof for 1+1=2, but I believe it is unnecessary. I understand what is claimed, and I apprehend the necessity of its truth. I don't need further convincing. Finally, there are the claims in pure logic: "All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal." What is claimed is clear and precise; I comprehend it and see the necessity of its truth. And again, I don't need further convincing.
That said, it would be a great disservice to the discussion to fail to point out the one major drawback of absolute certain knowledge. It is uninteresting. It is dull. No one cares about simplistic math or logic, or even the nature of the Self. If we limit ourselves only to the knowledge of which we are certain we will have an extremely myopic view of reality, indeed. I cannot stress that enough. True, certain, absolute knowledge exists, but its scope is so limited that by itself it is woefully inadequate to the task of dealing with life.
But it does serve a purpose. The Self helps us comprehend others and the world through language. Mathematics and logic are applied to the natural world through science. Science, though it does not produce pure theoretical knowledge (as a result of Global Doubt) it does produce the next best thing: well-founded rational beliefs. Well-founded rational belief differs from true knowledge because it is not 100% certain. However, it also differs from mere opinion

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