On Knowledge

By Pat Adams

All knowledge is suspect, no matter where it comes from. First, experience can give false information in a variety or ways. Wrong impressions are easily made from sensory input, such as optical illusions and the like. In addition, the senses can give input that is not even there. People with amputated limbs still claim to feel itches in the phantom limbs. People on LSD and other mind-altering drugs see and feel many things which are not seen by others, which is not to say that what they see is not actually occurring. The chemicals may break down the barriers in our mind and allow us to see the 'truth' more clearly. Who know? As Descartes says, we can never be certain whether we are dreaming or not, and any and all sensory is possible in the dream world. So no knowledge that we have has a strong foundation.

So if our experiences can not be trusted, reason must be more trustworthy as a basis of knowledge, lest we be madmen completely unsure of everything, which in some senses, we are. Reason is just as flawed as experience, if not more so. All fuel for reason must start with something that has been experienced; thus it is just as flawed. However, there are other factors that inhibit reason, such as illness and/or drugs. However, by avoiding mind-numbing drugs and staying in good mental health, the mind can be used to sift through experiences and choose only the 'good' knowledge.

But once again, good judgment about what to believe is based on previous experience and the use of bad judgment.

The only way we 'know' anything is by combining our reason and experiences together. We can speed the process along by 'borrowing' the knowledge of others, though once again, the knowledge must be checked against what one already knows.

Back Next