117.
Why is it not possible for me to doubt that I have never been on the
moon? And how could I try to doubt it?
First and foremost, the supposition that
perhaps I have been there could strike me as idle. Nothing would follow
from it, nothing be explained by it. It would not tie in with anything in my
life.
When I say “Nothing speaks for, everything
against it,” this presupposes a principle of speaking for and against. That is,
I must be able to say what would speak for it.
any proposition can be questioned –
doubt is always possible
how you go about doubting -
depends on how flexible you are in your
thinking –
and how imaginative you are
it might strike you as idle –
however put as a problem of physics –
it is anything but idle
and if you don’t make some kind of
intellectual effort –
nothing will follow
nothing will be explained
nothing will tie in with your life
‘Nothing speaks for, everything against it’
is really a comment on the speaker –
not the proposition
(c) greg t. charlton. 2009.
