1) What can I know? 2) What ought I to do? 3) what may I hope?

Answer 1

1) Nothing
2) Nothing
3) Nothing

That way you will never be dissapointed.

Answer 2

Hmm, very good, I'll be back after breakfast ,to gnaw on these questions with you....
I'm back , but strangely, despite more than 25 years of asking almost exactly these questions of myself, I have no answer to them .
What you have done here is to coalesce the most profound questions into 3 simple ones, and it seems to me that asking these questions is prehaps the best we can do.
The answer to number one might be that we can't finally 'know' the answers to these questions. The answer is apart from anything else, always dependent on the specific time and situation, each of which is a complete system in itself ,and each element, including us ,can only respond according to the other elements present.

I guess that what we can know, is held within a self referencing framework, eg: if I were to say that this is a computer , it would be correct within the english language. Likewise with more complex definitions, including "I am happy"; "scientists have proved ...". If we accept logic as a valid framework for describing truth then we can know things 'proved' by logic.
Of course, this implies that knowing itself as a concept ,is self referencing, and once we question it ,we cannot answer question 1 easily ,only ask it , and evolve our understanding and freedom from understanding as we go.
I ,as has any questioning person ,have known many things that no longer have that same conviction behind them, so..
2: Prehaps we ought to carry on questioning ,or at least refusing to settle for assumptions,
and,3: we can hope to be free from settling on anything as a concrete truth, and thus entering into the delusion of 'knowing'.

Despite all the above we still can act confidently on our convictions, and do /think what we will, as long as we don't take it all too seriously.

Answer 3

1) You can know that two wrongs rarely make a right -- but three often do.

2) You ought to washyour socks regularly. Many human problems are related to stinky feet.

3) You may hope that Finland continues its glorious assault on the world of pop music.

Answer 4

1) You are free to know what you wish and as much as you find both useful and relevant

2) You should know Right from Wrong and involve Knowledge & Wisdom in your desicions

3) You may hope for Success & Happiness for yourself and others and that you shall never suffer true pain and loss.

4) How to obtain all this and to know the details is up to you and your personal path. Some people believe in Fate but it is always down to the individual to see if Fate achieved or avoided.

Answer 5

Very good questions about the essence of the humanities from Kant, along with his fourth: What is man? In the absurd answers to your questions, we see ignorance. In the deeper answers, we see a light of intelligence. These are questions that can't be answered quickly. Take time to think about them. "As a result of the ways in which these questions have been answered, civilizations have emerged, nations have developed, wars have been fought, and people have lived contentedly or miserably."

Answer 6

1) You can know whatever you want to know, you just have to venture out for knowledge.
2) You should do what your heart says.
3) Always, always hope for the best no matter the situation.

Answer 7

You may know everything you need to know.
You ought to know everything to survuve
You may hope that the best will come to you
Good luck in whatever you do.:)

Answer 8

LOL!!! Isn't it fascinating that some of your answerers have described these as stupid questions.

As I suspect you know, these are exactly the questions addressed by Immanuel Kant in his series of philosophical 'critiques'.

So, my answer is to start by reading Kant's critiques. Or, since the actual critiques are rather heavy going, read a reputable summary of them.

Answer 9

You can know anything that you are brave enough to question.

You should do whatever you are willing to take responsibility for.

Hope is a waste of time, only now is real.

Answer 10

No no, these are good questions! Read up on philosophy a little before you diss her and ask your own dumb questions.

Having said that, I don't actually have any answers, but....2 points!

Answer 11

1. Yourself
2. Work on 1.
3. That you succeed