A History Of Knowledge

Transcription

1 A History Of Knowledge What The Modern Age Knew Part 1: The Age Of World Wars Chapter 18: We are not shooting enough professors - Lenin s telegram "The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed - Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Piero Scaruffi (2004) Edited and revised by Chris Hastings (2013) An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind - Mahatma Gandhi "Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. - George Orwell, 1942 What good fortune for governments that the people do not think - Adolf Hitler

2 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Flow of time is mysteriously altered by measurements Classical world emerges from quantum world thanks to measurement 2

3 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Continuous process of probabilistic kind gives rise to discontinuous process of the deterministic kind 3

4 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Measurement of system consists of chain of interactions between instrument and system, whereby states instrument become dependent on states of system 4

5 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Eventually, states of observer s consciousness are made dependent on states of system and observer knows what value of observable is 5

6 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Somewhere between system and observer s consciousness: Collapse occurs 6

7 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Game theory Zero-sum games (one player s win is other player s loss) and Non-zero sum games (both stand to gain or lose) 7

8 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Game theory cont d Prisoner s dilemma (non-zero sum) Any n-person non-zero-sum game can be reduced to n + 1 zero-sum game 8

9 John What Von the Neumann Modern Age (1932) knew Game theory cont d Such n + 1 person games can be generalized from special case of two-person zero-sum game 9

10 Sarvepalli What the Radhakrishnan Modern Age knew (1932) Intuitive absolute idealism The successive emergence of the material, the animal, the organic, the animal, the human and the spiritual (as told by Evolution theories) highlight cosmic evolution to reveal the Spirit 10

11 Sarvepalli What the Radharkrishnan Modern Age knew Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1932) Evolution does not end with emergence of human consciousness Evolution continues with emergence of superconsciousness capable of realizing union with reality that science cannot grasp 11

12 Sarvepalli What the Radharkrishnan Modern Age knew Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1932) Empirical world exists (not illusion/maya) and it is the Absolute in action as creator (Isvara, of whom Visna, Siva, etc. are different aspects) 12

13 Sarvepalli What the Radharkrishnan Modern Age knew Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1932) 3 forms of pramana (knowledge) Perception Logic Intuition 13

14 Sarvepalli What the Radharkrishnan Modern Age knew Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1932) Intuition is fundamental form of cognition, when mind works as whole to grasp essence of reality (knowledge by being) 14

15 Muhammad Iqbal (1932) Humans are imperfect egos God is the absolute ego God is supreme ideal for all other egos (see: Nietzsche s Übermensch) 15

16 Muhammad Iqbal (1932) Process that leads to perfection is process not of passive acceptance of God s will but of active social life 16

17 Karl Jaspers (1932) Existence (Dasein) is existence in world ( situated existence) Existence is orientation in world It is impossible to transcend human experience 17

18 Karl Jaspers (1932) Freedom of individual: To choose another existence and risks that come with it Real freedom of choice is impossible because we are what we are (historically, socially, etc.) 18

19 Karl Jaspers (1932) Freedom is only acceptance of one s destiny Communication is way existence realizes itself, but even communication is mirage: An existence cannot truly join with other existences 19

20 Karl Jaspers (1932) Existence is contradiction in terms Each existence can only glimpse essence of its own existence (it cannot change it) 20

21 Karl Jaspers (1932) Axial age of BC: Confucius, Lao-Tze, Buddha, Zoroaster, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, etc. 21

22 Karl Jaspers (1932) Nazism was last avatar of German nationalism that, starting with Reformation, assumed increasingly aggressive forms as reaction to difficulty in achieving political unity 22

23 Walter Cannon (1932) Homeostasis: Living organisms are capable of selfmaintenance 23

24 Alford Korzybski (1933) Animals: Hunters and gatherers are bound to territory (i.e., "space-binders ) Humans: Agriculture is bound to memory of past and prediction of future (i.e., "time-binders ) 24

25 Alford Korzybski (1933) Time-binding is enabled by nervous system that is capable of constructing and manipulating symbols Time-binding allows for transmission of knowledge to succeeding generations 25

26 Alford Korzybski (1933) Rate of growth of human knowledge is exponential Language allows time-binders to categorize and generalize experiences and communicate them to others 26

27 Alford Korzybski (1933) Human knowledge is limited by Structure of nervous systems Structure of language 27

28 Alford Korzybski (1933) Human beings cannot experience world directly, but only through "abstractions" that are due to nervous system and language What humans know is not necessarily what truly happens 28

29 Alford Korzybski (1933) General Semantics to remedy limits of language We have fewer words and concepts than experiences: We "confuse" similar situations 29

30 Alford Korzybski (1933) General Semantics to remedy limits of language cont d We must evaluate situation less by intension (its category) and more by extension (its unique features) 30

31 Alford Korzybski (1933) General Semantics to remedy limits of language cont d We must avoid categorization and generalization, and spot unique characteristics of situation 31

32 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Language provides semiotic mediation of knowledge, guides a child's cognitive growth Cognitive faculties are internalized versions of social processes 32

33 Lev Vygotsky (1934) An individual is result of dialectical cooperation between nature and history, between biological sphere and social sphere Individual is product of culture as well as product of nature 33

34 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Children develop under influence of both biology and society "Zone of proximal development: Difference between unguided (independent) problem solving skills and guided (coached) problem solving skills 34

35 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Language is way to organize world internally 35

36 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Language is also way to transmit a mind to less mentally-able individuals and across generations The byproducts of this coaching process are arts and sciences 36

37 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Acquisition of language itself is process of transmitting mind: Teaching children to speak is way of coaching their minds Humans solve problems by speaking as well as by using their body and tools 37

38 Lev Vygotsky (1934) Process of "learning" from coach is mostly unconscious (just like child is not conscious that s/he is learning to speak) We become conscious of function only after we have mastered it by practicing it unconsciously 38

39 Arnold Toynbee (1934) Civilization is due to response to a challenge Civilizations occur not in environments where human life is easy (e.g., Nyasaland) but in environments where human life is difficult 39

40 Emil Cioran (1934) Humans are doomed to unhappiness Philosophers ignore suffering of body (most obvious of realities) 40

41 Emil Cioran (1934) Mystical revelation gives answers to questions that philosophers can't even ask History is procession of false absolutes 41

42 Gaston Bachelard (1934) Science is discontinuous process (e.g., Relativity and Quantum Mechanics) Objective stance for Science Subjective stance for Art 42

43 Gaston Bachelard (1934) Scientists communicate via abstract mathematics Artists communicate through Jung's collective unconscious 43

44 Karl Popper (1934) Science is not inductive Science is hypotheticodeductive Truth is relative to a theory 44

45 Karl Popper (1934) Scientific theory provides means to falsify claims of truth No definition of absolute truth is possible 45

46 Karl Popper (1934) Democracy is form of government that embodies scientific trial-and-error method Democracy is form of government that allows for change in form of government 46

47 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Consciousness is not separate substance, but the world in its relationship with the organism Consciousness is in world, outside the organism 47

48 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Objects of environment are colored, beautiful, etc.: That "is" consciousness Objects do not exist per se, they are just way organisms perceive environment 48

49 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) It is our acting in environments that determines what we perceive as objects Different organisms may perceive different objects 49

50 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Environment results from actions of organism We are actors as well as observers (of consequences of our actions) 50

51 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Any change in organism results in change of environment Those objects have qualities and values that constitute what we call "consciousness 51

52 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Consciousness is not brain process: The switch that turns consciousness on or off is brain process Consciousness is pervasive but only social species can report on their conscious experiences 52

53 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) A self always belongs to society of selves Consciousness is product of socialization among biological organisms 53

54 George What the Herbert Modern Mead Age knew (1934) Mind is socially constructed: Society constitutes individuals as much as individuals constitute society 54

55 Paul Otlet (1934) Network of electric telescopes that would allow people to search and browse through millions of interlinked documents, and to send messages to each other Paperless future 55

56 Alfred Tarski (1935) Truth is defined in metalanguage Replace universal and intuitive notion of "truth" with infinite series of rules which define truth in language relative to truth in another language 56

57 Alfred Tarski (1935) Correspondence theory of truth: Definition of truth is in world Truth as correspondence with facts 57

58 Alfred Tarski (1935) Model-theoretic semantics: Models of world yield interpretations of sentences in that world Meaning of proposition is set of situations in which it is true 58

59 This is a chapter in Piero Scaruffi s A History Of Knowledge: