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ChristianKl comments on My Skepticism - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: G0W51 31 January 2015 02:00AM

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Comment author: ChristianKl 01 February 2015 01:36:34PM 1 point [-]

Standard methods of inferring knowledge about the world are based off premises that I don’t know the justifications for.

How do you come to that conclusion?

Comment author: G0W51 01 February 2015 05:45:29PM -1 points [-]

By realizing that the aforementioned premises seem necessary to prove anything.

Comment author: ChristianKl 01 February 2015 09:25:00PM 2 points [-]

Why do you believe "inferring knowledge" is about "proving"?

Comment author: G0W51 03 February 2015 02:11:41AM 1 point [-]

Because to infer means to conclude knowledge from evidence, and proving means to show something is true by using evidence. They are essentially synonyms.

Comment author: ChristianKl 03 February 2015 09:55:47AM *  0 points [-]

There are many cases of knowledge that aren't about X is true. When it comes to the knowledge required to tie the shoelaces of a shoe there isn't a single thing that has to be shown to be true by evidence.

Basically you lack skepticism about the issue that you think you know what knowledge is about.

Comment author: G0W51 04 February 2015 10:34:10PM *  0 points [-]

There are many cases of knowledge that aren't about X is true. When it comes to the knowledge required to tie the shoelaces of a shoe there isn't a single thing that has to be shown to be true by evidence.

There are multiple things that must be true by evidence to tie shoelaces successfully, including:

  • One's shoes are untied.
  • Having untied shoes generally decreases utility.
  • Performing a series of muscle movements that is commonly known as "tying your shoes" typically results in one's shoelaces being tied.

Edit: fixed grammar.

Comment author: ChristianKl 05 February 2015 12:13:27AM 0 points [-]

You are make assumptions that are strong for claiming to be a skeptic.

To go through them: 1) Tied shoelaces also allow you to tie them again. Untiedness is no requirement for tying. 2) If you are in a social environment where untied shoes are really cool then tying them might decrease your utility. At the same time tying them still makes them tied. 3) It's quite possible to tie your shoes through muscles movements that are not commonly used for tying your shoes.

Comment author: G0W51 05 February 2015 12:56:14AM 0 points [-]

You are make assumptions that are strong for claiming to be a skeptic.

To go through them: 1) Tied shoelaces also allow you to tie them again. Untiedness is no requirement for tying. 2) If you are in a social environment where untied shoes are really cool then tying them might decrease your utility. At the same time tying them still makes them tied.

Okay, I really shouldn't have stated those specifics. Instead, in order to tie shoe-laces successfully, all one really needs to know is that performing a series of actions that are commonly known as "tying your shoes" typically results in one's shoelaces being tied.

3) It's quite possible to tie your shoes through muscles movements that are not commonly used for tying your shoes.

I never said that the muscle movement were common, just that they typically resulted in tied shoes.

That said, I'm not really sure how this is relevant. Could you explain?

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