For now perhaps thinking about this matter can be
simplified a bit by considering that what we are thinking and talking about
are claims about what is real and the basic claim about reality itself.
How do we know of the claims we make about what is true are correct or not?
Consider the different types of claim that people make.
Claims about the shape of the earth or any other physical claim can be
determined in theory and most in practice to be true or not by using
scientific method. There is but one physical universe. More about this
in the chapter on Epistemology.
Claims in mathematics and its branches (e.g., arithmetic, geometry, algebra,
topology..) can also be determined to be true or false by using the rules of
the mathematical systems.
Most , not all, claims about logical propositions can also be determined to
be true or false by using the rules or laws of logic.
Claims about the meaning of words can also be determined to be true or false
by using a dictionary.
Claims about what is beautiful or what is morally correct can not be
determined to be true or false using any absolute and universal or objective
schema or set of criteria because such ideas are social constructs and vary
from one society and culture to another. But these claims are not
claims about what exists and is real but rather they are claims about what
people think about their own experiences and behaviors. More about
this in the chapter on Epistemology and claims about truth and in the
chapters on Ethics and Aesthetics for claims about what is morally good or
beautiful.
So claims about what is real fall under claims that are
called cognitive claims and persons making those claims are asserting that
what they claim is true. Claims about what is real can be resolved
using a method for falsifying or verifying claims about physical reality.
How can we know if the claims are true? That is the subject of the
next chapter. |