vol 3: Development
cap 1: Epistemology
page
Site map
Directory
Search this site
Home
1: About
2: Synopsis
3: Development
Next:
Previous: Epistemology: toc
This site is part of the natural religion project The natural religion project A new theology A commentary on the Summa The theology company
Introduction
Life is a gamble, and the logic of selection means that we have evolved to do everything possible to skew the odds our own way. We assume here that the strategy, in any situation, is to 'get real', ie try to understand what is really going on. With this information in hand, we can choose how to act with greater certainty of success.
Epistemology comprises the processes we use to improve the quality of our knowledge and actions. Proven methods not only guarantee the quality of action, but they also engender feelings of peace and security. Unfortunately the world evolves, which means that epistemology must also evolve. Methods that were once felt to yield truth may no longer seem so satisfactory.
We model epistemology using the language of cybernetics. Our first assumption is that all activity in life may fitted to the control loop: look, think, act, look . . . . This loop is often unconscious, but remains a useful analytical tool.
Even a very simple creature has an almost infinite range of possible interpretations of its environment and possible responses. At each moment in its life it must pick the action best calculated to keep it going. Difficult times select for excellence here, but when times are good the choices multiply. Inaction (sleep) can also be an excellent choice.
We assume on this site that our personal religion is everything we have learnt since birth. Religion is our learned guide to action, building on the biological powers passed on to us through our genes. Epistemology then becomes the tool we use to develop quality religion, that is quality learned fitness.
A new religion
It is at this point that this project deviates from 'religions of the book'. The methods used by such religions are devoted to interpreting ancient texts in the light of modern circumstances. The method proposed here is the scientific method, that is the assumption that we should derive our information about the world directly from the world. Books can easily be wrong, since the world changes and what seemed true to an ancient writer may no longer be very convincing. Or the author may have been on the wrong track to begin with.
This part of the site is devoted to an exposition of scientific method and an exploration of the boundaries of our knowledge and certainty.
The 'scientific' parts of Development are an application of this method, beginning with the definition of a model and followed by fitting it to the structures studied in physics, biology, cybernetics, psychology and theology.
The evolution of 'artistic' (= practical) solutions to life's problems is then taken up under the headings of love, culture, religion, politics, economics, design, work and heaven.
(revised 17 November 2007)
Further reading
Books
| Gregory, Richard Langton, and (editor), The Oxford Companion to the Mind, Oxford University Press 1987 Preface: '... written by a wide range of authorities on as many aspects of Mind as possible. ... The range is wide, as the concept of Mind accepted here is far broader than what may (at first) come to mind, as one thinks of mind: especially thinking and consciousness. We do not, however, limit 'Mind' to consciousness, or awareness, for even long before Freud it was clear that a great deal goes on 'mentally' which is beyond (or beneath, or at least outside) our awareness.' Amazon back |
| Hofstadter, Douglas R, and The Fluid Analogies Research Group, Fluid Concepts & Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, Basicx Books 1996 Jacket: 'Readers of earlier works of Douglas Hofstadter will find this book a natural extension of his style and his ideas about creativity and analogy; in addition psychologists, philosophers and artificial intelligence researchers will find in this elaborate web of ingenious ideas a deep anmd challenging new view of mind.' Amazon back |
| Honderich, Ted, and (editor), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press 1995 Preface: 'The brave, large aim of this book is to bring philoophy togethter between two covers better than ever before. This is not a job for one man, or one woman, or a few, or a team, although it has been tried often enough. So 249 of us have joined forces.' Amazon back |
| Kuhn, Thomas S, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, U of Chicago Press 1996 Introduction: 'a new theory, however special its range of application, is seldom just an increment to what is already known. Its assimilation requires the reconstruction of prior theory and the re-evaluation of prior fact, an intrinsically revolutionary process that is seldom completed by a single man, and never overnight.' [p 7] Amazon back |
| Lloyd, G E R (editor), and J Chadwick and W N Mann, I M Lonie, E T Withington (translators), Hippocratic Writings, Penguin Books 1983 Jacket: 'Hippocrates of Cos is perhaps the best-known doctor of all time. His insistence on meticulous observation and the physical causation of illness, coupled with a rejection of supernatural causes made him and his associates pioneers of the scientific method. The writings in this volume are the work of a number of men as well as Hippocrates. ... this is a representative collection of the Hippocratic writings in one volume.' Amazon back |
| Lonergan, Bernard J F, Insight : A Study of Human Understanding (Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan : Volume 3), University of Toronto Press 1992 '... Bernard Lonergan's masterwork. Its aim is nothing less than insight into insight itself, an understanding of understanding' Amazon back |
| Popper, Karl Raimund, Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, Routledge and Kegan Paul 1972 Preface: 'The way in which knowledge progresses, and expecially our scientific knowledge, is by unjustified (and unjustifiable) anticipations, by guesses, by tentative solutions to our problems, by conjectures. These conjectures are controlled by criticism; that is, by attempted refutations, which include severely critical tests.' [p viii] Amazon back |
| Popper, Karl Raimund, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, 1992 Jacket: 'A striking picture of the logical character of scientific discovery is presented here ... Science is presented as ... the attempt to find a coherent theory of the world composed of bold conjectures and disciplines by penetrating criticism.' Amazon back |
Papers
| Seltz, Frederick, "Decline of the generalist", Nature, 403, 6769, 3 February 2000, page 483. Millennium Essay: 'The vigour of every discipline depends on people of broad vision'. back |
| Hubler, Graham K, "Fluff balls of fire", Nature, 403, 6769, 3 February 2000, page 487-488. 'The most mysterious sort of lightning is ball lightning - glowing spheres of light that float in air. New theory claims to explain nearly all the properties of these unusual balls of fire.'. back |
Links
| Alfred Tarski The semantic concept of truth and the foundation of semantics, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 4 (1944). Originally published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 4(1994). 'Our discussion will be centered around the notion of truth. The main problem is that of giving a satisfactory definition of this notion, i.e. a definition that is materially adequate and formally correct. ... ' back |
| Aquinas 13 Summa: I 2 3: Does god exist? I answer that, The existence of God can be proved in five ways. The first and more manifest way is the argument from motion. ... The second way is from the nature of the efficient cause. ... The third way is taken from possibility and necessity ... The fourth way is taken from the gradation to be found in things. ...The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. back |
| Brown University Brown University Scholarly Technology Group Overview 'STG maintains expertise in the critical new technologies that support scholarly work in the digital medium and help guarantee its longevity: XML publication tools, text encoding and metadata standards, database design, and accessibility standards.' back |
| Ray Scott Percival The Karl Popper Web back |
| University of Toronto Method & Theory in the Study of Religion: Bibliography 'The focus of this collection is on materials which raise significant issues of METHOD AND THEORY in the academic study of religion. Books and articles on religion or religions, as such, are not included unless they raise significant methodological or theoretical issues. The books, articles and other resources currently on the database are not exhaustive of the subject; they are meant to be the foundation for a growing collection of use to everyone with a professional interest in the subject' back |
Click on an "Amazon" link in the booklist at the foot of the page to buy the book, see more details or search for similar items
Related sites:
Concordat Watch
Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty
Copyright: You may copy this material freely provided only that you quote fairly and provide a link (or reference) to your source.
