h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It says on your main page that you would like some questions answered. I will give you my account and leave you to decide. I'm only 17, so don't be too harsh on my lack of understanding!

What is there?

In certainty, only ourselves. There is no reason to believe that our senses, that is, what we feel or experience. The problem of who or what we are "The problem of the ego" like Hume says, can be questioned, but it is essential to believe that I exist, and this can be stated as knowledge. You could say that "I" is a perspective in which I experience.

In short...

I experience
I infers my existence,
therefore
I exist.


This should be seen as a distinction between Descartes as I believe "thought" is not a given.

But, even so, we must believe that things exist externally from us as it needed for our own continuation of rationality. The "construct" as I like to call it of rationality can also be questioned, but not by ourselves as that undermines our very being. Rationality is necessary for anything as long as I believe I have any power over my actions whether it be true or not.

This I call "functional idealism".


How do I know?

Justified true belief. Something can be true by definition - a human invented tautology. We can have knowledge, but obviously, definitive truth is something we do not have access to by its very nature (A contradiction), so we can know, but we can't know we know. I also take the approach that things are true until they are dis"proven" (Popper's falsificationism)


Why should I?

This question seems situation specific, so it is a bit hard to provide a sweeping statement to underpin all actions. I think that the explanation of imperatives by Kant was on the right track - that if I want something, I must do things to get the right outcome (Hypothetical imperative). The question of whether you should is another question, but I am optimistic and I believe whatever is the best for everyone else will also be best for you. This is because I think that humans are selfish, and do things for their own benefit, but I also think that the impact on society has a significant impact on the individual, so if an individual thinks a decision through, what's best for them will be, for example, a small sacrifice so the community or society can be sustainable.


Nick_Em