on certainty 17

17. Suppose now I say “I’m incapable of being wrong about this: this book.” while I point to an object. What would a mistake here be like? And have I any clear idea of it?

whether you are pointing at something or not

any proposition is open to question –open to doubt

if you are certain – there can be no mistake –

and in an uncertain reality –

there will be no mistakes –

what we deal with is uncertainties – not mistakes

this concept of the mistake –

has no place in the epistemological debate –

it is a superficial concept –

it does not stand up to analysis –

epistemologically speaking –

it is useless

© greg t. charlton. 2009.