'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Thursday, August 12, 2010

on certainty 580


20.4
580. It might surely happen that whenever I said “I know” it turned out to be wrong. (Shewing up) 



whether an assertion is right or wrong –

is an uncertain matter

you use a proposition –

and if under the circumstances –

it is not successful –

then you can say you were wrong

in a different set of circumstances –

the proposition may prove to be successful –

in that case you might say you were right

if there is a ‘showing up’ here –

it is that  propositional ‘success’ –

or propositional use –

is not certain


© greg t. charlton. 2010.