503. I look at an object and say “That is a tree”, or “I
know that that’s a tree”. –Now if I go nearer and it turns out that it isn’t, I
may say “It wasn’t a tree after all” or alternatively I say “It was a tree but now it isn’t any longer”.
But if all the others contradicted me, and said it never had been a tree, and
if all the other evidences spoke against me – what good would it be to stick to my “I know”?
the ‘I know’ – is a claim to an authority for a proposition
–
the only authority is authorship
therefore – ‘I know’ = ‘I am the author of …’
authorship does not guarantee a proposition –
and if you are the author of your proposition –
it is irrelevant and unnecessary to assert it
if you claim an authority – other than authorship –
your claim is false –
if it has rhetorical – persuasive effect –
it is an effect based on deception
so the real question is – what good is ‘I
know’ –
in any circumstance – in any usage?
a proposition is a proposal
–
open to question – open to doubt –
whether or not
anyone agrees with it –
and prefacing it with ‘I know’ –
doesn’t alter this logical reality –
the reality of uncertainty
all it does is introduce an irrelevancy –
or a deception
© greg t. charlton. 2010.
