Category Archives: Nature of Knowledge

Articles concerning the nature of knowledge, including descriptions of neurological constructivism and pragmatic empiricism.

Are Mountains Real?

[Post at Preface to Atheism, Apr 27, 2024.] When philosophers ask if something is real, they mean: Does it exist independently of our thoughts? Whose thoughts, exactly? Well, generally, human thoughts. Our in this context means us as a species. … Continue reading

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Fallacies of the Naive Observer

Today I’m going to discuss a fallacy common to observers of the physical world (people like us), one which has significant practical importance. I call it the naive observer fallacy, and it goes something like this. (1) Observers bring biases … Continue reading

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Mind is the Brain Improving Itself

Intelligence is being able to see what is right in front of you. Ignorance is looking at the world before you and seeing what you were taught to see. For thousands of years people looked at the night sky and … Continue reading

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Rough Notes about Consciousness

I suspect that no topic has been obfuscated with more nonsense—religious, philosophical or scientific—than consciousness. First, the focus on what consciousness “is” usually starts at the wrong place, at what might be called “high up” complex consciousness, rather than beginning … Continue reading

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Do We Live in a Simulation?

The human brain creates a simulation of the world around us from sensory inputs. This simulation is inside of us, and can be analyzed and known and expanded with supplemental knowledge. But some (actual) scientists are confused. They wonder if … Continue reading

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Is Evolution a Fact?

It drives me crazy (not really, of course) when atheists (and lately even some scientists) assert that evolution is a “fact”. Now, the word “fact” can have various (conflicting) meanings. For example there is a sense in which calling something … Continue reading

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The Basics

For thousands of years philosophers have gotten the science of our existence wrong. They have mistakenly assumed that we know or perceive the world around us; we do not, we cannot. They have believed that our sense perceptions are direct … Continue reading

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Cartesian Doubt

Philosophy begins with science. How do we know this? We can try to begin with philosophy. We can start with Cartesian doubt. Unfortunately for the history of philosophy, Rene Descartes did not take his first philosophy far enough. He began … Continue reading

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