trc@houti.UUCP (08/23/83)
Response to Paul Torek: {contextual knowledge}
In saying "A rose, by any other name..." you seem to be saying that
"justifying actions" is equivalent to 'justifying the claim to "really
know" things'. Can you defend this point of view? I did not say, and
in fact, explicitly opposed the idea that, the point of wanting to
"really know" something is to "justify actions". That is a benefit,
to be sure, but it is not the objective.
"Justifying actions" is normally construed to mean, implicitly "to
others". But the purpose behind wanting certain knowledge is to allow
one to act in a rational, valid (in reference to success in reality)
manner. If one cannot be certain (and I mean, not at all, not even
partially), then one cannot have a realistic basis for action. This
would mean that one could not rationally choose between alternative
courses of action, and that so far as one could know, the choice could
be made arbitrarily, on whim. The additional benefit of being able to
describe to others *why* we act in a certain manner is icing on the cake.
Tom Craver
houti!trc