Epistemological Certainty - Knowledge

Where Certainty means absolute Certainty,

  Epistemological Certainty [is]

  Realization, without doubt, of evidence of a truth-value that is self-evident.

As no single thing is any other thing^[1]...
     No single truth contradicts any other truth.

The knowledge of the truth is understanding.
The truth is understood by the things that are made.

In order to justify you know a truth-value you must:

1. have evidence of a certain system you understand, and
2. the evidence must justify that the truth-value of the certain system can be known.

P is true;

1. You understand the certain system of P, and
2. The evidence justifies that the truth-value of P can be known

[P]: I Exist.

1. You understand where [things which are] [belong], and
2. The evidence of [things which are] of P, justifies that one can understand that the truth-value of P can be known.

To understand in [things which are]
   there are [things which are] that [belong] of P,
     is to be justified in knowing,
       with Epistemological Certainty, "I exist".

René Descartes - Cogito Ergo Sum^[2]:

The simple meaning is that doubting one's existence, in and of itself,
   proves that an "I" exists to do the doubting.

In simpler terms:

[I IS] OR [NOT in any way, shape, nor form, AT ALL]

Epistemological Certainty,
   upon reflection of the evidence, is Knowledge!

Contents

• Challenges
• Conclusion
• References

Challenges

It is widely held that certainty is impossible, attributed to:

• People not having a proper understanding of certainty vs uncertainty, which are equatable in limit to truth vs lies.
• Many people paraphrasing Socrates and/or Plato and misrepresenting their positions to mean "one cannot know anything with absolute certainty"^[3]
  
  Refuted by:
  
  Prominent Plato Scholars:
  • C.C.W. Taylor argues the "paradoxical formulation is a clear misreading"^[4].
  • Gail Fine argues "it is better not to attribute it to him"^[5].
• Physicist Carlo Rovelli argues "The very foundation of science is to keep the door open to doubt. Precisely because we keep questioning everything, especially our own premises, we are always ready to improve our knowledge. Therefore a good scientist is never 'certain'."^[6]
  
  Refuted by:
  
  • Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge".)^[7]
  • Stephen Jay Gould^[8] in 1981, describes fact in science as meaning data^[9].
  • Evolution with regard to biology means, observed changes over time^[10]. A good scientist is certain there are observed changes over time, and certain to maintain proper mutually exclusive lists of things known for certain from things that remain uncertain.
• Problem of induction^[11]
  
  Refuted by:
  
  • Induction having nothing to do with knowledge, as it leads to only a belief.

Conclusion

• I am certain that I am.
• I am certain to be certain of one thing, is to be certain of one thing at a time.

References

1. ^ The Three Classical Laws of thought
2. ^ René Descartes - Cogito Ergo Sum
3. ^ Michael Stokes (1997) - Apology of Socrates. Warminster: Aris & Phillips. p. 18. ISBN 0-85668-371-X..
4. ^ C.C.W. Taylor - (1998) Socrates, Oxford University Press, p. 46.
5. ^ Gail Fine (2008) - "Does Socrates Claim to Know that He Knows Nothing?", Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy vol. 35 (2008),p. 51
6. ^ Carlo Rovelli - (2011) The Uselessness of Certainty
7. ^ Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge".)
8. ^ Stephen Jay Gould
9. ^ Data
10. ^ Evolution as fact and theory
11. ^ Problem of induction