Knowledge and Skepticism

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Knowledge and Skepticism

• 1. Whats up with Vanilla Sky Memento Total
  Recall?
• 2. The Analysis of Knowledge
• What is Platos analysis of knowledge?
• 3. The Argument for Skepticism
• What is a skeptical hypothesis?
• What are some examples of skeptical hypotheses?
• What are some important differences between these
  hypotheses?
• Is the argument for skepticism sound?
• What does issue (3) tell us about issue (2)?

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• Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
•  
• Tom Cruise .... David Aames
• Penélope Cruz .... Sofia Serrano
• Cameron Diaz .... Julie Gianni
• Kurt Russell .... Dr. Curtis McCabe
• Jason Lee (I) .... Brian Shelby
• Noah Taylor .... Edmund Ventura
• Timothy Spall .... Thomas Tipp
• Tilda Swinton .... Rebecca Dearborn
• Michael Shannon (V) .... Aaron
• Delaina Mitchell .... David's Assistant
• Shalom Harlow .... Colleen
• Oona Hart .... Lynette
• Ivana Milicevic .... Emma
• Johnny Galecki .... Peter Brown
• Jhaemi Willens .... Jamie Berliner

3

• Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)
•  
• Arnold Schwarzenegger .... Douglas Quaid
• Rachel Ticotin .... Melina
• Sharon Stone .... Lori
• Ronny Cox .... Vilos Cohaagen
• Michael Ironside .... Richter
• Marshall Bell .... George/Kuato
• Mel Johnson Jr. .... Benny
• Michael Champion .... Helm
• Roy Brocksmith .... Dr. Edgemar
• Ray Baker .... Bob McClane
• Rosemary Dunsmore .... Dr. Lull
• David Knell .... Ernie
• Alexia Robinson .... Tiffany
• Dean Norris .... Tony
• Mark Carlton .... Bartender

4

• Logic and Critical Thinking
• What is the basic plot of Memento?
• Who is killed in the beginning?
• Who is Leonard trying to find?
• What is Teddys role in all this?
• What is Natalies?
• What is Leonards?
• Who killed Leonards wife?

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• Memento Epistemology
• Does Leonard have any knowledge? Is his knowledge
  compromised? In what ways?
• Can we argue that Leonard himself, because of his
  particular situation, does not know anything?
• Can we use Leonards situation as the basis for
  more general argument for skepticism?
• Is it possible to lose ones memory to the extent
  that Leonard does and still know at least some
  things? What kinds of things could you know?

6

• Vanilla Sky Philosophy
• Wake up, David. (cf. Neo) clock radio
  (trailer)
• Open your eyes. clock radio (film)
• Do you know why youre here? Dr. McCabe
• What is happiness, David? Julie Gianni
• Do you believe in God? Julie Gianni
• Life Extension/Lucid Dream
• Body in a vat
• everything is your creation
• your true moment of choice

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• The Analysis of Knowledge
• What conditions are necessary for having
  knowledge?
• S knows that p only if . . .
• If not- . . ., then S does not know that p
• What conditions are sufficient for having
  knowledge?
• S knows that p if . . .
• Platos Analysis Knowledge df. justified true
  belief
• S knows that p if and only if
• p is true
• S believes that p
• S has available an adequate source of
  justification for p.

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• The Argument for Skepticism
• S does not know that not-H.
• If S does not know that not-H, then S does not
  know that O.
• ? S does not know that O.
• Let S any person
• O any ordinary belief
• H a skeptical hypothesis
• Support for Premise (2)
• Knowledge Closure Principle If S knows that O,
  and O entails not-H, then S knows that not-H.

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• A Version of the Argument for Skepticism
• (1') Joe does not know that he is not a brain
  in a vat, (i.e., a BIV).
• (2') If Joe does not know that he is not a BIV,
  then Joe does not know that he has a hand.
• (3') ? Joe does not know that he has a hand.
• Where S Joe
• O Joe has a hand.
• H Joe is a BIV
• not-H Joe is not a BIV

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• Skeptical Hypotheses
• Give some examples of skeptical hypotheses
• from philosophy (Descartes, Putnam, Russell)
• from films (Matrix, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall,
  Memento)
• Questions
• What is the skeptical hypothesis?
• What (kinds of) ordinary beliefs does it
  undermine?
• How does it undermine these beliefs?

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• Skeptical Hypotheses in Philosophy and Film
• The Madness Hypothesis (Descartes)
• Memento
• The Dream Hypothesis (Descartes)
• Matrix, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall
• The Evil Genius Hypothesis (Descartes)
• Matrix
• The BIV Hypothesis (Putnam)
• Matrix, Vanilla Sky
• The Five Minute World Hypothesis (Russell)
• Total Recall, Memento

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• Descartess Two Main Hypotheses
• The Dream Hypothesis
• undermines empirical knowledge (a posteriori
  knowledge gained from experience via the senses)
• does not undermine rational knowledge (a priori
  knowledge prior to experience a triangle has
  three sides, 7 5 12, space is three
  dimensional, God exists, etc.)
• The Evil Genius Hypothesis
• undermines rational knowledge
• does not undermine the Cogito (Descartes)

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• Questions
• What kinds of ordinary beliefs does the Matrix
  call into question?
• Is it more like the dream hypothesis or more like
  the evil genius hypothesis?
• Is the Matrix hypothesis stronger or weaker than
  either of Descartess hypotheses? Does it call
  more of our beliefs into question, or fewer of
  our beliefs into question?
• What about Vanilla Sky? Total Recall? Memento?

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• Facts about the Argument for Skepticism
• For any argument one can either (a) question the
  premises (that is the truth or the justification
  of the premises), or (b) question the arguments
  validity (that is, whether the conclusion follows
  from the premises).
• The argument for skepticism is valid it is not
  possible for the arguments conclusion to be
  false given that the premises are true.
• Therefore, if the argument for skepticism is
  fallacious, then one of the premises must be
  false. But which one is false?

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• Two Replies to the Argument for Skepticism
• 1. The Common Sense Reply
• . . . since I do know that Im standing up, it
  follows that I do know that Im not dreaming . .
  .. (G.E. Moore)
• Moore accepts (2) but rejects (1). I know that
  Im not dreaming, that Im not a BIV, etc.
  because I know that I have a hand, etc.
• 2. Denying Closure
• . . . you can know that the animals are zebras
  without knowing that theyre not painted mules.
  (Fred Dretske)
• Dretske accepts (1) but rejects (2). I know that
  the animals at the zoo are zebras but I cant
  rule out that they are disguised mules, or that
  Im a BIV, etc.

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• Some Questions to Consider
• Is knowledge fallible or infallible?
• Does the fact that S knows that she has a hand
  entail that S can rule out all skeptical
  hypotheses (e.g. that S is a BIV, that S is in
  the Matrix world, etc.)? Or are only some of
  these possibilities relevant alternatives to our
  beliefs?
• Does knowledge require internal justification,
  for instance having a proof, or evidence that is
  accessible to the knowing subject? Or is it
  enough that we are merely connected to the world
  in the appropriate way (externalism)?
• Is the word knows ambiguous? Does an
  application of the philosophical sense of the
  term require different standards than an
  application of the ordinary sense of the term? Is
  the word knows context-sensitive, like large?

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• Key Points of Descartess Philosophy
• Foundationalism All knowledge begins with the
  Cogito I think, therefore I am.
• All knowledge is certain and infallible.
• There is a transparency of the mental we have
  immediate knowledge of appearances, propositions
  about the content of our thought I believe that
  I have a hand, I seem to see a tree, I am being
  appeared to redly, etc.
• There is a veil of appearance we have only
  mediate empirical knowledge of the external,
  mind-independent world.
• Dualism is true our bodies are made up of
  material substances but our souls are immaterial
  substances. The essence of the body is extension
  (i.e., it takes up space) and the essence of the
  mind, or soul, is thought.