[lit-ideas] Re: What Every School Boy Knows

  • From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 18:08:35 +0000 (GMT)


--- On Sat, 29/5/10, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx <Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx> wrote:


> --- Grice coined "Modified Occam Razor": "Senses should not
> be multiplied  
> beyond necessity". Surely McEvoy's is an unnecessary
> multiplication of the 
> sense  of 'know', 

What is necessary here need not be one sense only, any more than what is 
necessary for certain explanations need not be one kind of entity [say, 
physical]: and it question-begging to assume that knowledge in the conjectural, 
fallible sense is the "unnecessary multiplication" rather than knowledge in the 
sense of JTB. 

But even if we were to accept a stipulation that "know" only be used in the JTB 
sense (perhaps just to keep Grice's heart monitor from going beserk), and 
therefore accept that we may never claim to "know" something that turns out to 
be mistaken, we would not have advanced anything in terms of the substantive 
metaphysical debate. In fact, if we assume all knowledge has a conjectural 
character, all our stipulation means is that we can never "know" 'knowledge' - 
or, if we assume all "knowledge" is perforce _true_, then the false aspects of 
Newton's theories, say, were never any contribution to human knowledge. Neither 
conclusion seems particularly helpful or insightful. And it would remain open 
to the fallibilist, having abandoned use of the term "know" or "knowledge" in 
its JTB sense, to simply deploy another verb.

Put another way: verbal stipulations can only give the illusion of solving 
substantive problems - in the same way not talking about bed bugs can only give 
the illusion of having got rid of them. Only philosophers, having been 
inculcated in the 'linguistic turn', could assert otherwise. 

Donal






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