ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1

GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Randsdefinition:Epistemologyisasciencedevotedtothediscoveryofthepropermethodsof
discoveringandvalidatingknowledge.
Shewrotethatphilosophyisprimarilyepistemology
Yetinpopcultureshesassociatedwithherpoliticalandethicalviews
EvenOistsgenerallydonthaveacomprehensiveunderstanding
Thepurposeofthelectureistoprovideagreatercontext/orientationtopeoplewhowantto
studyitfurther
IntrotoObjectivistEpistemologyishermostinformativeworkonthesubject
Thisisnotasurveyofallofthepointsofherepistemology
Isasummaryofhertheoryofconceptsacardinalelementinherepistemology
Meantforpeoplealreadyacquaintedwiththefield
Onlyindicateshowthetheoryisfundamentaltootherissuesinphilosophy
Notasystematicaccount
AlsorecommendsOPARandBinswangerslecture,ConsciousnessasIdentification
SalmieriwillbeincludingalotofmaterialthathedoesnotknowforsurethatAynRandwouldhave
agreedwith
IdeasofhisownandPeikoffsworkthathelpsyouseeapplicationsofthetheory
NotpartofObjectivismproper(notexplicitlyendorsedbyRand)
Randsapproachtoepistemologyisessentializedintothefollowing:Therulesofcognitionmustbe
derivedfromthenatureofexistenceandthenatureofconsciousness.
Consciousnessasastateofawarenessisnotapassivestatebutanactiveprocess
Wecandistinguishconsciousnessasastateofawareness
Consciousnessisaxiomatic:cannotbedefined(canonlypointtorelevantfacts)andcannot
bebrokendown
Ex:seeing.Ex:perceiving,etcallstatesofawareness
Thereisalsoawarenessinperceptualformmoreonthislater
Afacultyisanenduringattributeofanentitybyvirtueofwhichitisabletoengageinsome
activityorsetofactivities
Ex:thenutritivefaculty,ex:reproductivefaculty
Consciousnessasastateofawarenessisnotprimarilysomethingonehasbutrather
somethingonedoes
Seeingisacomplexactionthatconsistsofmanyprocesses,asaretheothersenses
Itistheactivityofgraspingtheidentityofcertainthings
graspingisagoodmetaphorbecauseonceyougraspanobject,itisanongoing
processyoumustcontinuetograspitssustainedaction
Itsimportanttodistinguishaformofawarenessfromitsobject
Aformofawarenessistheidentityofastateoractasdistinctfromtheidentityoftheobjectof
whichyoureaware
Theformofyourawarenessistheidentityofyourstateofawareness
Otherterms:theformofawarenessisthehow,theobjectofyourawarenessisthewhat
FormandObjectareveryoftenconflatedinphilosophy
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1
GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Ex:whenIseeamanblurrilyitwouldbeconflationtobelievethatwhatImseeingisin
realityablurryman.
Makingthisconflationleadsyoutotwooptions
Featureofexistence:Naverealism
Theviewthatconsciousnessisawareinnoformofanobject,buttheobjecthasthe
formalreadywithinit
Ex:theblurrymanexamplefromabove
Attributingthepackagedealtoconsciousness:perceptualsubjectivism
Ex:Thereisablurrymaninmyheadbutthisisnotanawarenessofanythinginthe
world.Imawareblurrilyandmanilyofnothing.
Almostallofthemajorviewsarehalfwayhousesofthesetwoviews
Attheconceptuallevel,awarenessisvolitional
Itisachievedconsciously,andbychoice
Thisisdistinguishedfromperceptualawarenesswhichisnotachoiceandoccursautomatically
Ex:IfyouholdupacopyofAStoachild,hewouldautomaticallyseeit
Hewouldnotknow,itsagreatworkofliterature,itsafirstedition,itsvaluable,etc
Becauseconceptualawarenessisvolitional,weneedtoknowHOWtodoit
Everyoneacquiressomeimplicitknowledgeofhowtoknow
Thisisnotsufficientbecausehumanbeingsarenotomniscientandnotinfallible
Oftenwefindourselvesjustknowingthings
Ex:IfheheldupacopyofAS,wewouldjustfindourselvesjustknowing
whatitis
Wedontjustfindourselvesjustknowinghowtogettothemoon,etc
becausewearenotomniscient
Wecanalsomakemistakes.Becausewerenotinfallible,weneedamethodto
validateourknowledge
Noticethatargumentsoftenturnonissuesabouthowtovalidatethe
conclusions
WeneedaconceptwiderthanknowledgewhichcanincludeknowledgeANDerrors.Somethingthat
isaconceptforattemptedawareness:cognition
Subsumesawarenessandfailedattemptsatit
Therearethreesensesoftheconceptknowledgeallperfectlyvalidandcloselyrelated
Thewidestsensesynonymouswithawareness
Narrowersenselimitedtoonlystableandenduringawareness
Asopposedtosomefleetingawarenessasinseeingoutofthecornerofyoureye
Narrowestsensepropositionalknowledge
Knowledgeheldintheformofsentences(concepts)
Thepurposeofconsciousnessisnotjustbeingawareoftheworld
Thepurposeisbeingawareoftheworldtodirectaction
Thereforetherearemanystatesofconsciousnessthatarenotattemptsatbeingawareof
objectsnotcognitions
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1
GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Ex:imaging,desiring,dreaming,initiatinganaction
Alltheseinstancesarederivedfrompriorcognition(attemptatawareness)
Buttheactofimaginingsomethingisnotanactofdiscoveringsomethingnew
Theseotherstatesofconsciousnessthatarenotcognitionsareallinvolvedinsomewaywith
theuseofcognitiontoguideaction
Eithermeansofdirectingcognition
Orsomebyproductlikedreams
Consciousnesscanbedividedintotwobasiclevelsdependingonthetypeofconsciouscontent:the
conceptualandtheperceptual
Thebaseofallofmansknowledgeistheperceptualstage
Perceptioniswhatallotherknowledgeisgroundedon
Weneedtobeabletodifferentiateperceptionfromtheotherstagesofknowledgeaswell
asunderstandwhatitisaboutperceptionthatallowsittobethebaseofknowledge
Ifyouconfuseperceptionwithotherstages,youwillconclude(inerror)thateither
perceptionisimpossibletobuildupon,orifItispossible,whatyoullbebuildinguponis
abunchoferrors
Thereforewemustdifferentiateperceptionfromsensation,perceptualjudgement,and
visualization[Thesethreedoseemtobeoftenconflatedsometimesinbehavioral
finance]
Whatisasensation?
Anautomaticreactionofasenseorgantoanexternalstimulus.
Lastsaslongasthestimulus
Ex:thinkofascallop
Onlyexperiencessensationssortofabigtonguenotconnectedtoanybrain
Scallopsawarenessisessentiallyanalternativebetweenyumandick
Averylowlevelknowledgeoftheworld
Contrastthiswithaseagull
Seagullseesthewater,identifiesacreatureinthewater,guidesitselftowardsthecreature,
picksitup,eatsit,etc.
Continuestohaveaconsciousawarenessofthesameobjectovertime
Thisisperception
Whatisperception?
Aperceptionisagroupofsensationsautomaticallyretainedandintegratedbythebrainofa
livingorganismwhichgivesittheabilitytobeawareofentities
Aperceptionisanintegrationnotjustadifferentiationassensationis
Consciousnessismadeupoftwoessentialpartsdifferentiationandintegration
Integratesintoanewwhole,intoentitieswhichwecanalsodifferentiate
Thisisasopposedtoacommonviewthatlooksatperceptionasabunchofsensations
allatonce[thistheoryisdiscussedinHowWeKnowlookituplater]
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1
GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Ifyouwantedtobeawareofaworldofexistentsyoudsomehowhavetoprocess
thesesensationsandinfertoaworldofentitiesbutitwouldbeimpossibletodow/
outconceptualknowledge
Becauseofthispeoplecometotheconclusionthatwehaveinnateconcepts
becausewecantgettheseconceptsoutofsensations
Thereforeifyoureduceperceptiontoagroupofsensationsitbecomes
impossibletoseeperceptionasthebaseofknowledge
BecomeskepticlikeHume,orthinkwehaveautomaticconceptslike
Descartes
Whatistheproofthatperceptionisanintegrationofsensations?
Becauseyouhavetolearnaboutsensationslater
Childrenarenotcapableofdifferentiatingouttheirsensationsfromperceptsuntillater.
Itsaninferencethatanythingisawareofindividualsensations
Whoknowswhatascallopsawarenessis?
Sensationsareisolatedinthemomentwhereasperceptionisofentitiesthatmoveover
time
Wecanperceivecausality[Thisseemstobearesultofthefactthattheisisthewhy
andperceptionisaprocessofidentifyingtheis]
Causalityisanentityactingaccordingtoitsnature
Weperceivesthisallthetimebecausewedontperceiveinsnapshots
Ex:Whenweseeananimalwalk,weseesomethingthatdoessomething.
Weperceiveasawholeassomethingdoingsomething
Ex:Youseeaballrolling,youperceivethecurveoftheentityfollowingthe
ground.Youseehowtheentitysshapeisinvolvedwiththerolling
Todisputethisistoreduceperceptionbacktoacollectionofsensations
Aperceptualjudgmentisaconceptualidentificationofaperception
Peopleoftenthinkofperceptionasperceptualjudgment
Perceptualjudgmentsalwayscontainmoreinformationthanispresentintheperceptionaswell
asdiscardotherinformationthatwaspresentintheperception
Ex:Iholdupabluecellphoneandask,whatisthis
Thatsacellphone
Thisstatementcontainstheknowledgeoftherelationshipbetweenthisentityand
otherphonesthatareanalog.Itpresupposesknowledgeoftelecommunications.
Thereisalotofknowledgeinthepropositionthatsacellphonethatsnot
containedintheperceptualviewingofthecellphone
Therearealsomanythingsintheperceptionofthebluecellphonethatisnotinthe
phrasethatisacellphonethepositionofthecellphone,theexactshadeofthecell
phone,etc
Thatsblue.
Thisstatementisthesameasthepreviousexample,eventhoughitsasimpler
proposition
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1
GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Bycallingitblueyourerelatingthecellphonetootherbluethings,andyoure
differentiatingitfromredthingsbutallofthisisnotpartoftheseeingofthecell
phone.
Theinformationthatisaddedthroughconceptualidentificationoftheperceptioncame
fromotherperceptions,butitisnotnecessarilycontainedinthatspecificperception
Ifyouconfuseperceptionandperceptualjudgmentyouultimatelywillendupbelievingthat
yoursensescanplaytricksonyou
Supposeyousawthecellphoneanditlookedbluebecausethelightwasfunnybutasyou
gotcloseryourealizeditwasred.
Withouttheperception/conceptualidentificationofperceptiondistinction,youwould
concludethatyoursensesareplayingticksonyou
Ex:bentpencilinaglassofwater
Theperceptiondoesnottellyouthatthereisapencilandthatitsbent.
Perceptiondoesnotengageinjudgement
Itsimplyrevealstheworld
Toseeistosee,thatsit.
Itdoesnotmakesensetosaythatthesensedeceiveyou
Thereareotherargumentsagainstthesensesbutwerenotgoingtocoverwhytheyre
incorrect
Visualizationistheperceptualprojectionofhowanobjectwillactorrespondbaseduponones
priorperceptualknowledgeofitorsimilarobjects
Ex:Supposeachipmunkjumpsontomanytreebranchesoveritslifeandperceivesthebranch
supportingit.
Perceptuallyperceivingthecausality.
Hesabouttojumpontoanewbranchhowdoesheknowthatthisbranchwillsupporthim
too?
Hesomehowuseshisperceptualmemorytopredict/expectsomethingaboutthisfuture
branch
Sometimesheswrong.SomethingcangowrongwithwhattheChipmunkisdoingin
thiscase.
Thechipmunkabilitytoerrinthisrespectisnotaproblemwithperception
Theerrorispossibleeveniftheanimaldoesnothavefreewill
Aimsatprojectingthatwhichdoesnotyetexistandthereforeisnotaperception
Sometimespeoplecallthistheperceptionofaffordances
Thinkthechipmunkperceivesthatthebranchwillholdit
Thisiswrongbecausevisualizationrequiresaprojection
Bothvisualizationandperceptualjudgmentsarepostperceptualprocessing
Conceptualizationistheepitomeofpostperceptualprocessinginthatitsvolitional
Perceptionisthebaseofallofourknowledge
Thisisnotapointaboutperceptionbutratheraboutconceptsandpropositions
Whattheyessentiallyareinvolvesprocessingperceptioninacertainway
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart1
GregSalmieri1Hr29min
Tabularasameansblankstateandistheideathatperceptionisthebaseofallknowledge
Nativismistheideathatwehaveinnateideas,whichwouldcontradictperceptionasthebaseof
knowledge
Havingalargeresurgencetoday[behavioralfinancemostdefinitelytheattempttoexplain
everyhumanactionbyreferencetolions2000yearsago]
Question:Clarifyhowweperceivecauseandeffect.
Itsnotthatweonlyknowcausesbyperceiving.Therearealotofcausalconnectionsthatyou
canonlyrecognizethroughhigherlevelconceptualization.
Youcantperceiveeverythingaboutacauseeither
Ex:thephysicsoftheballrolling
Norisitthatyouperceiveitasaquality
Whatyouperceiveistheobjectacting
Youdontperceivethethinganditsactionastwodisconnectedthings
Youperceiveawhole,whichisathingactingovertime
Therearetwothingsinvolvedindenyingthatyouperceivecausalitythisway
Itsreallyadisintegrationoftheperceptionintosensations
Orreducingintoperceptualjudgments
Question:Istheperceptionofthecausefallible?
Youresayingthatthereisavisualizationinvolvedinperceivingcausalconnections
Sometimesthatsthecasebutthenitwouldntbeperception
Assoonasyouprojectthenextcauseyourenolongerperceiving
Ex:youperceivethisfireisburningthispapernotfireburnspaper
Question:Whydoyouthinkthechipmunkisvisuallyprojectingwhatwillhappenwhenitlandsas
opposedtojustfeelingadesiretojumpinacertainway
Forthesakeofepistemology,itdoesntmatter
Ifthechipmunkthatjustjumpswithnovisualizationthentheresnophenomenonthatneedsto
bedistinguishedfromperception.
considersitaprobablehypothesisbutisnotascholarofanimals
Includestheconceptinordertodistinguishamongapopularviewofwhatsgoingon
Question:couldyouclarifythecorrectandincorrectviewswithregardtosensationandperception?
Perceptionisaformofawarenessofwholeentities
Thiscomestobebytheintegrationofsensations
Thewrongviewisthatperceptionisasetofsensations
Ex:youlookatapitcherofwaterandyouperceiveasetofsensations:itssilver,itscold,
itsbellshape,itsshiny,itsnoisy,alldiscreteinabundle.