92. However, we can ask: May someone have
telling grounds for believing that the earth has only existed for a short time,
say since his own birth? – Suppose we had always been told that, - would we
have any good reason to doubt it? Men have believed that they could make rain;
why should not a King be brought up to believe that the world began with him?
And if Moore and this King were to meet and discuss, could Moore really prove
his belief to be the right one? I do not say Moore could not convert
the King to his view, but it would be a conversion of a special kind; the King
would be brought to look at the world in a different way.
Remember that one is sometimes convinced of
the correctness of a view by its simplicity or symmetry,
i.e. these are what induce one to go over to this point of view. One can then
say something like: “That’s how it
must be.”
yes –
the point here –
is just that the issue is persuasion –
that what we are dealing with –
in terms of what people believe –
is not logic – but rhetoric
and the reason is –
reality – independent of our
imaginings –
is unknown –
therefore –
any account we make of reality –
is uncertain
another way of putting it –
is just to say –
in response to our proposals –
the unknown –
is silent
© greg t.charlton. 2009.
