Truth Criteria, Science Types, and Metaphysical Themes
Truth Criteria
- Corroboration: It must demonstrate its strength.
- Coherence: It must be consistent with itself and other established knowledge.
- Practical Application: Practical applications corroborate the truth (as espoused by pragmatists).
- Universality of Evidence: It should produce a consensus among rational individuals, although universal consensus does not automatically equate to truth.
Types of Science
- Based on Purpose:
- Theoretical: Knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
- Practical: Knowledge for practical application.
- Based on Object of Study:
- Formal Sciences: Logic and mathematics, studying concepts, relationships, and ideal models.
- Natural Sciences: Studying the physical world and natural phenomena.
- Social Sciences: Studying human behavior and their creations.
Mathematical Truth Criteria
- Consistency: A system of axioms cannot lead to a contradiction.
- Independence: No axiom can be derived as a theorem from other axioms within the system.
Themes of Metaphysics
Metaphysics delves deeper than physics, representing a foundational science. Degrees of verification vary:
- Science: Scientific evidence is compelling and widely accepted.
- Philosophy: Lacks such strong evidence, yet philosophical inquiry has yielded significant progress and profoundly impacted life.
Large Parts of Metaphysical Knowledge
- Ontology: The theory of general reality.
- Gnoseology: The theory of the knowing subject.
- Ethics: The theory of human action.
Arguments for the Existence of God
- The Argument from Design: The universe’s complexity suggests a designer, God.
- The Ontological Argument: The concept of God as “that than which nothing greater can be conceived” is debated, as it doesn’t necessarily prove existence.
- The Existence of Moral Law: Kant posits God as the ultimate distributor of justice.
Normative Systems
Includes:
- A model of the ideal human being, their virtues, and standing.
- A model of behavior.
- A model of society.
Reason legitimizes morality, serving to regulate conflicts of interest, personal desires, and intimate relationships.
Custom, Morality, and Law
- Custom: Rules derived from habitual social training.
- Moral Norms: Enforced through social pressure.
- Laws: Enforced through the compulsion of authority.
Origin of Morality
Morality arises from social interaction. Individuals have personal goals for happiness that must be coordinated with others through norms. These norms are created to facilitate the pursuit of happiness. While individual conceptions of happiness vary, basic desires are universal, and our desire for happiness is tempered by the need to coexist with others.
Nine Great Moral Problems
- The value placed on life.
- Duties to the community.
- The exercise of power and conflicts of interest.
- Property and its distribution.
- Sexuality, procreation, and family.
- Care of the vulnerable.
- Treatment of foreigners and those who are different.
- Beyond death, the gods, and the meaning of life.
Human Dignity
Kant argues that human dignity stems from the moral imperative to treat each human being as an end (not merely a means). Freedom, justice, and universal peace are desirable values whose realization depends on recognizing human dignity.