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Re: Knowledge and belief



Cowan:
>My interpretations are false in a purely subjective (solipsistic?)
>metaphysics, in which every proposition is true iff you believe it
>is true, but surely that is not the default metaphysics for "djuno"!

But so far as I know, we did not limnit the discussion of the semantics of
djuno to default x4 values.  There are purely subjective x4's (whether you
want to call them epistemologies or metqaphysics) that CAN be used.  There
are probably also x4's that are specific to some group of people, including
the x1 of djuno, but not to the speaker.  By specifically invoking that
x4,even if I am not privy to the rssulting knowledge directly, I can make
true claims about someone else's knowledge.

I don't think that subjective necessarily means solipsistic.  Certain
astronauts know specific facts X about the lunar surface by their personal
experience.  >I< know those facts in order to report them, on the basis
of hearsay.  And if you hear those facts from me for the fdirst time then
you know them by indirect hearsay.  Stating the knowledge of the astronauts,
myself, and you iwth jetnu, results in 3 different "truths" each by a different
epistemology.  But those truths which are observer dependent are not indeed
jetnu, unless you somehow manage to incorporate the observer into the
place structure.

I suspect that something like this is the basis of the reasoning behnd certain
kinds of subjective evidence being barred.  It is possible for the witness to
"know" something, while the court does not accept that "knowledge" as being
 "true".

lojbab
----
lojbab                                                lojbab@access.digex.net
Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc.
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