So I'm in this high school program called International Baccalaureate (I.B.) that is similar to Advanced Placement, however one of the requirements in being in this program is that you have to take a Theory of Knowledge class, basically a philosophy class. So my teacher gave our class a list of 10 topics I should think about as I would be writing an essay on the topic. This are the 3 I'm interested in: 1) To what extent is truth different in mathematics, the arts, and ethics? 4) How can the different ways of knowing help us to distinguish between something that is true and something that is believed to be true? 10) What similarities and differences are there between historical and scientific explanations? Okay...so I was never really a philosophical kind of guy and I tend to write essays with a "scientific" mindset. So I thought that if I discussed with some of you guys and gals and our viewpoints on the topics, it could help me write the essay later on. So...discuss!
1) To what extent is truth different in mathematics, the arts, and ethics? Okay in mathematics a truth is always definite... 1+1 =2 this is a truth. In arts... wel I don't really know what a truth in arts really means but in ethics there is not real truth as it always depends on various things like your point of view. 4) How can the different ways of knowing help us to distinguish between something that is true and something that is believed to be true? Okay I don't really know which kind of different ways of knowing you talk about. You can know something through experiencs, scietifical proof, logic or through what you know through other people. Well you always know something through your sources... You have to kind of weight them and see if they are good or bad... 10) What similarities and differences are there between historical and scientific explanations? Oh man... I just need someone else to start on this one untill I'll discuss this
1) But can't you also argue that all the concepts in mathematics are discovered by mathematicians. How can we trully know the truth if we base our views on someone elses? We are thought that a^2 = b^2 + c^2....but it's just a concept found by someone else. What do you think? 4) I kinda agree with your on some of the ways of knowing...I guess it's the different ways of knowing that can help a person determine whether something is true or believed to be true. 10) This topic kinda ties in with topic number 1. Since I'm very "scientific" and believe that things can be explained by science and facts, it's hard for me to depend of historical explanations as a way of explaining things. For me, explanations for events that happened thousands of years ago can alter and change as years pass and the credibility might not be as good for an explanation.
1) But can't you also argue that all the concepts in mathematics are discovered by mathematicians. How can we trully know the truth if we base our views on someone elses? We are thought that a^2 = b^2 + c^2....but it's just a concept found by someone else. What do you think? xxxx Math is someting human made up, it is like saying: "all blue flowers are blue" it is a sentence which is fully true because it kind of defines the truth itself...
The thing is though, it seems to me that math is someone else's idea. Can we trust someone else's views, ideas, beliefs? As for the "all blue flowers are blue"...they are not man-made. Flowers are grown to be what ever color they are use to be.
Now what I mean is that the sentence itself makes a statement which has to be true... All blue things are blue... About math.. 1+1 is equals two because somebody defined it that way.. About math... You don't have to believe in manth, math is a completly made up system... But if you prove something mathematically than it is necessaraly right if you "believe" in the Axioms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiom#Mathematical_logic_2 So if you don't believe in the axioms you can't accept math (on facebook there is a group for math atheists), but mathimatically 1+1 is 2 because of the axioms
1 seems the easiest in my opinion. Math: Truths in mathematics are statements that proven through the use of accepted logical deductions from a set of core axioms. These logical deductions and axioms are assumed to be true and are universally accepted as being true. There is nothing subjective since everyone accepts the basic assumptions behind mathematics. Art: There is no such thing as an absolute truth in art since beauty is in the eye of its beholder. Art comes from the individual and unlike math, there are no rules in art that everyone accepts. Ethics: Ethics is similar to art in that truths stem from the beliefs of the individual. A person develops his/her core ethics from what he/she inherently believes to be right or wrong.
Yeah I was leaning on topic #1. Seems you are natural at this stuff. These kinds of essay topics are never my kind.
Ethics: Ethics is similar to art in that truths stem from the beliefs of the individual. A person develops his/her core ethics from what he/she inherently believes to be right or wrong. xxx Acutally in Ethis now that I'm thinking about it waht is true does not come from an individual, it comes from the "masses"... Why is steaöing wrong? It is wrong beause most of the people think so, in ethics a halfway leigmate truth almost always comes from more than one person. Or A certain thing is accepted to be true because a lot of people accept it.