on certainty 434

434. Now does experience teach us that in such-and-such circumstance people know this and that? Certainly, experience shews us that normally after so-and–so many days a man can find his way about a house he has been living in. Or even: experience teaches us that after such-and such a period of training a man’s judgment is to be trusted. He must, experience tells us, have learnt for so long in order to be able to make a correct prediction. But  –  –  –

experience without interpretation is empty

interpretation gives experience form and content

interpretation is uncertain –

experience is uncertain

what experience teaches us is uncertainty

any ‘knowledge’ we have –

is uncertain

you may interpret the data of experience in a certain way –

all to the good if it suits your purpose –

but there is no certainty here

does experience teach us trust?

experience teaches us the validity of different interpretations

a correct prediction – is what?

a projection based on accepted premises –

that delivers the goods –

or that is interpreted as doing so

yes we take action –

yes we make predictions –

but any action taken –

any prediction made –

presupposes –

uncertain premises

© greg t. charlton. 2010.