SYSTEMS
file systems 11:06 am Oct 26, 1994/11:33 am Nov 24, 1992
Key concepts to cover on the book on mathematical and scientific epistemology
The nature of knowledge and knowing we can not know anything for certain. Because we can not know anything for certain we have to be able to deal with all possibilities. If we have to deal with all possibilities how can finite beings deal with infinity? We simplify, we make outlines, we look at organizing the big picture, we put probabilities on theories based on the assumptions we make. but, we need to make sure that the assumptions that we make are spelled out in the results or probabilities. Why do we want to do this? The world is complicated enough with out studying everything! The key is problem solving. How do we solve a problem? Ideally we would look at all the possible solutions and pick the one that did the best job with the least amount of bad side effects. We process the information that we have and find a solution to a problem. But how do we do this? How can this process be systematic? It seems that any time that we make a system it has a limited range that it can solve problems for. Is there a system that can handle every system. That is what Mathematical epistemology is all about. Scientific epistemology studies systems of knowledge scientifically like a zoologist studies different types of animals. Mathematical epistemology is the system that represents what the science finds out. Like any science I can not tell you what we will find. And like many areas of mathematics I can not tell you if every thing that can be known in that area is known. In fact, many mathematical areas can be infinite in complexity. There seems to be systems and meta systems and meta meta systems that can go to infinity. We can have knowledge about anything. In fact, it does not have to be a thing it can be called a nonthing. Although a fiction story is not true we can have knowledge about the story. We can have knowledge about the knowledge about the story that has no knowledge in it because it relates to nothing real. It always comes down to how do we know anything. We can not know anything about reality for certain for tomorrow we may find we are in an experience machine and everything that we thought was real is not even the rules of logic. Our very existence may not be before know. We may only have a beginning of a mentapath that has these thoughts of a past. Thoughts of the past tells us what could be, even if what we think happened could never be. our awareness of the world is always after the fact. this is because the information that we process is already out dated even if only by milli seconds.
How many possible systems exist that can be predictive about knowledge? There exists an infinite amount of systems that can be useful and predictive. Some will be more useful and predictive that others. How do we produce better theories or systems? there can exist theories that produce systems. Aren't the sciences already doing this by themselves? Why then do we need a science of epistemology? because Epistemology studies how to make system production better and faster. I believe that most scientists know very little about systems of knowledge and how to make them better. Epistemology deals with all aspects of a system and there are more aspects of a knowledge systems that one specialists can deal with how is a dscientists that deals not in systems but is specifics to deal with a knowledge structure much beyond the one that he is taught and is working in. When we change knowledge structures we can gain many things. These things range from better and more predictive structures to allowing new insights for the scientists. Epistemology is a tool like mathematics is that can help scientists be more productive. One of the most useful concepts is that of a continuum of change. This differs from random pockets of systems. This allows for smooth change from one Island of knowledge systems to another. We really do not have the Island, we have a sea the we can move the Island around on. Some may say that we are understanding the world that we live in. I do not believe this because we can not answer most of the questions that we have about ourselves and our experiences. We can only answer our questions up to our assumptions. If we question our assumptions then we find we have many more questions to answer. Physicists have solved many things in a predictive way But they have not explained why there basic parameters are what they are for instance why light has the speed it has and why it is uniformly every where the same.
Who is currently studying systems of knowledge? Philosophical Epistemologists so do psychologists computer scientists, system engineers, mathematicians and every one that studies anything sets up a system to deal with the knowledge. Many times it is done by the brain and it is unconsciously utilized. We have to have a way to represent every type of knowledge no matter how complex. How can we do this? This is one of the questions that scientific epistemology deals with. Where as philosophical epistemology deals with the question of how we come to know something. The scientific epistemologist answers the question by saying that we can not know anything for certain and if there is a word to this term then we can not know there can be meanings of knowledge that is less that certainty. We thus have types of knowledge based of different of meanings and usages. A scientific epistemologists studies these different levels of knowledge. Knowledge relates a consciousness to system of understanding.