on certainty 57

57. Now might not “I know, I am not just surmising, that here is my hand” be conceived as a proposition of grammar? Hence not temporally. –

But in that case isn’t it like this one: “I know, I am not just surmising, that I am seeing red”?

And isn’t the consequence “So there are physical objects” like: “So there are colours”

‘I know, I am not just surmising, that here is my hand’ –

if ‘I know’ means ‘I am certain’ –

then you have – ‘I am certain – I am not uncertain’ –

yes – ‘a proposition of grammar’–  if you like –

and in so far as it has no content – it is just a word game –

‘non-temporal’ – yes –

and irrelevant to anything that follows it

so – ‘here is my hand’ and ‘I am seeing red’ –

are alike in that ‘I know I am not surmising’ –

is of no consequence to either of them –

it’s irrelevant

‘And isn’t the consequence “So there are physical objects” like: “So there are colours”’ –

‘so there are physical objects’ – is a way of explaining ‘hand’ –

‘so there are colours’ – is a way of explaining ‘red’ –

in so far as the concepts of physical object and colour –

are explanatory concepts –

yes they are alike – but this is a similarity of use –

and their use – their actual – temporal use –

is open to question – open to doubt –

is uncertain

we can go even further –

and put the whole concept of explanation –

to the question –

of what value is it?

again this is a question of circumstance and use –

can you imagine a circumstance –

in which it is of no use –

to explain?

© greg t. charlton. 2009.