More categories for our mental maps

 How we understand knowledge has repercussions for how we understand our place in the world.  How we understand our place in the world, likewise impacts what we will count as knowledge.  This delicate dance of ideas gives rise to a broad range of theories that play a critical role in virtually every form of life.

 Rejects the notion that justification must obey logic or reason. Varieties of irrationalism include: ◦ Nihilism – asserts the impossibility of knowledge. ◦ Mysticism – magical or divine sources provide knowledge... ya just know it in your gut!

 Rationalists' arguments, begin largely on the basis of deductive reasoning from first principles or clear and distinct ideas.  But where do these first ideas come from? ◦ a priori or innate ideas that are ◦ not derived from sense experience.  Are they ‘hard wired’ in the species or  Preexisting in ‘minds’ (whatever that may be)?

 Empiricists - proceed inductively on the basis of sensory experience. ◦ e.g. color, sound, smell, texture, etc. ( though there is disagreement on what to include in this list.)  It is probabilistic rejecting absolute certainty.  It asserts that Synthetic a posteriori claims, matters of fact, can describe reality, e.g., “The cat is on the mat”. While,  Analytic truths that are a priori and necessary add no new information about the world., e.g., “three plus two is five.” is tautological.

 Asserts that something, the world, directly causes perceptions.  And the world is as it is whether or not it happens to cause a perception. ◦ e.g. There would still have been an Australian continent even if it had never been inhabited.

 Asserts that there exists absolutely no world causing perception.  All argument to the opposite conclusion are found uncertain or unconvincing.

 This indirect Realism asserts that some object of perception, sense data, participates in causing perception,  While individual perceivers, provide an interpretation of the raw data giving rise to experience.  The world is identical to neither perception nor experience.  The world is invariant whether or not it happens to cause a perception. ◦ e.g., There might still have been an Australian continent even if it had never been discovered. But it would be impossible to know it.  However, experience need not be invariant. ◦ e.g., One may experience Australia as a land of muted grays on approaching from afar at night or as of vivid blue greens landing in Darling Harbor at noon.

 Asserts that there exists levels of reality.  Forms are most perfectly real and include ◦ The form of objects of science, e.g. Mathematical entities independently exist at a high level.  There would be numbers whether or not there had ever been people that count. ◦ The form of the objects of art, e.g. Beauty  There would be beauty independent of works of art. ◦ The form of the good,,e.g. virtues  The individual acts of humankind are mere resemblance of goodness itself. ◦ etc.

 Asserts that something, the mind, causes perceptions (Nothing can be like an idea but another idea) and,  the world seems or is as it is only in so far as minds cause perception. ◦ e.g. Australia would not have been a continent if it had never been inhabited (or at least held in the mind of the gods.). It could not possibly have had a prior existence at all.

 A kind of empiricist view (knowledge arises through sensation) according to which  One rejects material substance ◦ If nothing can be like an idea but another idea material substances are an unnecessary redundancy.  Rejects the common sense notion of cause. ◦ If “x happens y must happen” is only contingent and only probable – not a necessary connection. Since the connection in not a matter of sensation nor logically necessary it is just nonsense – a psychological prejudice. (the problem of induction.)

 Referring is always referring to phenomenon, i.e. "appearances", as opposed to noumena, the object of thought.  Shares close affinities with sense idealism. But, is neutral or hostile to mental causation.  On some versions, the essential claim of Phenomenalism is that the content of propositions about so called material objects can be entirely specified in sense-datum terms.