Do we actually know anything?

Question

What we know as knowledge is only what we perceive as true, so do we know anything? (Do you know this? Do you perceive it as true? Is is fact? Is the knowledge you know only true in your perspective or do others agree? What do you know as a fact?)

Answer 1

too confusing, skip it.

Answer 2

This question is regarding perception, so I would say that
authentic knowledge must be considered from an
existential baseline. Consider the existential baseline
as a means of comparing reality with delusion. Hypothetically,
if an individual perceived unrealistic reality from the
beginning of their memory then the individual wouldn't
have a concept of what is real. Therefore, the individual
would have difficulty distinguishing reality from delusion.
In order to critique perception it is important to know
what objectively exists and what subjectively exists.
Objective nature can be observed by potentially all
people and considered based on uniform properties
perceivable(but not necessarily perceived simultaneously)
by all those people. Subjective nature is dependent on the
perceiver's perception. I think the question you are asking
regards the labelling of objective nature by subjective nature
because you mention "we" repeatedly. In my opinion,
objectivity has equal potential to be observed as a consistent
existence among many subjective observers. However, I
believe that communication of the observation forces
objectivity into subjective language. For example, English
measurement vs metric measurement; both measure
objective existence, but the subjective language differs and
might cause people to believe that the measurement is not a
true accurate fact. Both the English and metric systems are
valid methods of measurement, and this can be proved by
ratio equivalence. In my opinion, we consider existence to be
the only practical objective means of proving anything and
everything. Consider proving non-existence, and it becomes
apparent how much weight we put in assuming that existence
is true. Therefore, whether existence is true or not, all proof of
observation relies on the truth that existence is reliable.

Answer 3

This is very deep, philosophical stuff. If we do not doubt our senses and reason, we come to conclusions about the nature of things that we share with others and eventually obtain consensus, at least in our culture. Other cultures may not believe the same way. Some philosophers have doubted the validity of the senses and others have said that everything exists only in a devine imagination.

I like a scientific approach. If it can be seen, measured, quantified, mathematically analyzed, and conclusions can be reached; and if others can do the same things and come to the same conclusions, then, within the limitations of our ability to observe, we can say that it is true, at least for now. However, it can be changed as new information is available. This is what is meant by a theory.

Truth is much different in belief systems such as religion, spirituality, and metaphysics. Based on family, educational, religious, and unexplainable experiences, humans all believe pretty much what they want to believe as truth in these areas.

The philosophy of how we know what we know is epistemology, which is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity.

Answer 4

I think I get what you're saying.
Ex: I know E-mc2, but I do not have the knowledge of it like Einstein did. I only "know" it because it was always told to me.
I don't believe many people have a true knowledge of anything, including me.

Answer 5

Yes. Being self aware is knowing. Knowledge is an accumulation of facts that we use to fulfill and expand our lives. Wisdom is using those facts wisely. If you didn't know anything, you wouldn't be asking questions. We all know something, even the newborn.

Answer 6

Sure we do; we know a little about what we think, and that's about all. I say "a little" because most of what we think is subconscious, but we know what we think is true. We know what we think is false. Everything else is all guesswork. We don't know what is really true, or what is really false. You can be 100% sure, and still be wrong, so don't worry about it; take a guess and go for it. Being decisive is probably more important more of the time, than being correct.

Answer 7

there is something called "Science"....and his is a group of facts ...sometimes we discover that these facts need some adjustments because we discover new facts...but certainly we know many true things so far about science.

there is another thing called "Art"...which deals with feelings and abstracts ...these things can be seen from different points of view, however they are still there.

actually your question is both scientific and artistic at the same time....thanx for asking this question.

good luck

Answer 8

Yes, we do. Don't be an idiot. Knowledge is the perception of truth, and truth is what confirms with reality. Many things in life have proven to coexist easily with reallity. Your argument is void of substance, if we knew nothing you would not be able to type this question. We may only know parts of reality, but we know about some of it. Your thinking to hard about something with a simple answer!

Answer 9

When we are born, we know everything there is to know about "ME" The more we accept of the universe, the more we have to give up about "Me" until by the time we die, we know almost nothing about everything. That is the stage in which we are ready to embrace the Universe and actually start learning.

Answer 10

I think the only thing we can really be sure of is logic. To say that we aren't even sure of logic is really to deny everything about our lives, so if you do that, you have to make a choice. Live and deal with it, or kill yourself. Maybe the latter itself is an illusion.

Answer 11

Sometimes we don't know what we don't know. However, as a society, we are getting more knowledgeable everyday. More preceptions are turning into facts.