on certainty 424

424. I say “I know p” either to assure people that I, too, know the truth p, or simply as an emphasis of |-p. One says, too, “I don’t believe I know it”. And one might also put it like this (for example) “That’s a tree. And that’s not just surmise.”

But what about this: “If I were to tell someone that that was a tree, that wouldn’t be just surmise.”  Isn’t this what Moore was trying to say?

yes – it could well be –

but the point is this –

stating that a proposition is not a surmise –

doesn’t make it any less a surmise

I think Moore wanted certainty –

and in the end came to the view –

that all he had to do was assert it –

and he managed to con a number of other idiots –

into sharing his delusion

© greg t. charlton. 2010.