Knowledge Claims

Six types of knowledge claim. Limitations of knowledge and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

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Notes

Whenever we assert something is true, we make a . Six types:

1. Statement of personal observation — “I see that the sky is blue”
2. Statement of observation — “Scientists have observed that…”
3. Definition — “A bachelor is an unmarried man”
4. Hypothetical statement — “If it rains, the ground will be wet”
5. Metaphysical statement — “God exists” / “Free will is real”
6. Value statement — “Honesty is important”

Limitations of knowledge: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave — prisoners mistake shadows for reality. What might we be mistaking for the full picture?