'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Sunday, May 24, 2009

on certainty 6


6. Now, can one enumerate what one knows (like Moore)? Straight off like that, I believe not. – For otherwise the expression “I know” gets misused. And through this misuse a queer and extremely important mental state seems to be revealed.



with ‘I know ..’ ‘I know …’  ‘I know …’

etc . etc. –

it is not that ‘I know’ gets misused –

it gets revealed

for what it is –

unnecessary and irrelevant

and the mental state –

revealed –

‘queer’ – ‘extremely important’ –

or otherwise

is pretentiousness –

and the basis of pretension –

is either deception –

or delusion


© greg t. charlton. 2009.