ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2

GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Knowledgeisheldintheformofpropositionsandpropositionsaremadeupofconcepts
Thisiswhyconceptsarethecentralissue
Propositionsareinbasicsubjectpredicateform
Ex:Thedogbarks
Propositionsnotlimitedtosimpleknowledge
Whatisaconcept?Definitionallowsforcompetingtheories:
Aconceptisaunitarycognition(ofthesortexpressedbyaword)oforapplyingtoindefinitely
manydifferingobjects
Ex:Birdshavebeaks
Yourethinkingaboutallbirdsisuniversal
IsunitaryinthesensethatyoureonlythinkingaboutBirds
Eachofthethingswhichfallunderagivenconceptiscalledaunitoftheconcept
Areuniversal,onecognitionovermanyconcretes
Theproblemofconcepts(universals):Howdowehaveunitarycognitionofwhatare,toperception,
indefinitelymanydifferingthings?
Conceptualidentificationisnotautomatic
Youdontautomaticallyidentifycommunismasevil
Ifweknowhowwedothis,wecanknowhowweshoulddoit.
Evencallingittheproblemofuniversalsisanexampleoftheformobjectconflation
Peopledontnormallyask,howisitweknowobjectsuniversally
Theyask,wherearetheuniversalsoutthere
TheRealistsaffirmtheexistenceofrealuniversals
Theysayaconceptisanawarenessofthisuniversalobject
Thenourknowledgeoftheuniversalappliesinsomeincompletewaytotherealconcretes
Moderaterealism(Aristotle)andextremerealism(plato)
ConceptualismandNominalismdenythatthereareanyuniversalobjects
Theressomekindoffictiongoingoninuniversalthought
Conceptualist:Wemadetheconceptup,Nominalism:itsaperceptthatfunctionsina
certainway
Usuallyreverttoexplicitskepticism
NeitherofferguidanceforHOWtoconceptualizebecausebothessentiallyclaimthattheres
nothingtoconceptualizing
Extremerealism:Theresasupernaturalarchetypethatwejustknow,wejustintuitit
Conceptualism:Youjustmakeuporarbitrarilycreateconcepts
Nominalism:Sameasconceptualismconceptsaremadeup/subjective
Aswegrowupwelearntouseourconceptualfacultytoidentifyandlearnbutnoneof
thisisautomaticandwecanmakemistakes
Thisiswhyweneedtoknowhowweperformconceptualizationandnoneofthese
schoolshelp
ModeraterealismDOEShaveatheory,itsjustaninadequateone
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Itfollowsfromitthatwecanform/validateconceptsbylookingatabunchof
thingsandseeingiftheresanidenticalelementinthem
Soyoucanlookatdifferentunitsandseeiftheyhaveanelement
Ex:Youlookatthreebirds,theyallhaveincommonbeaksandfeathersso
theybelongtothatconcept
Thistheoryisaptlytermedcontextomissionbecauseyoufocusonlyon
thetraitswhicharethesameandomitallothertraits
Thetheoryisfalse
Thebeaksofbirdsdiffer:diffcolors,positions,shape,etc
Asarethefeathers,differentlengthsforexample
Ifyouiteratetheprocessdowntobeak,youendupwithnothingat
theend.Contextomissiondoesnotworkasatheoryofconcept
formation
AynRandreplacescontextomissionwithmeasurementomission
Ex:lookingatthelengthofthefeathersofthebirds
Lookingatthelengths,ifyouremovethedifferencesbetweenthelengthstheresnothing
leftfromwhichtoformlength
However,thelengthsdostandinrelationtoeachother.Theyrecomparable
TheydifferinthemoreorthelessAristotle
Twocolorsdifferfromoneanotherbutlengthandcolordonotbecausetheyrenot
commensurable
Differinginthemoreorlessisactuallymeasuringagainstoneanother
Ex:Noticingthatonefeatherislongerthantheotheroccursbymeasuringthemagainst
eachother
Whensuchdifferencesareusedintheformationofaconcept,RandcallsthistheConceptual
CommonDenominator(CCD)
Islikeadenominatorinmath
Compare42/63and55/99
Canttellwhichisbigger/measurethemagainstoneanother
Butifyoufigureouttheyreequalto6/9and5/9youcanmeasurethemagainst
eachotherbecausethereisacommondenominator
Similarityiscomparativelyslightdifference[!!!]
Fortwothingstobesimilar,theycanonlybesimilarwhencontrastedtoathirdfoil
Ex:Twobluecolorsonashirtappeartobedifferentcolors
Whenyoubringinathirdcolor,yellow,youseethesimilaritybetweenthetwoblue
shades
CCD:Thecharacteristicsreducibletoaunitofmeasurementbymeansofwhichmandifferentiates
twoormoreexistentsfromotherexistentspossessingit
Ex:Toseetheblueyouneedtoseeyellow
Noteshesaysthatthecharacteristicshavetobereducibletomeasurementandnotthatthey
havetobereducedtomeasurement[!!!]
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Toseethecolorsassimilaryoudontneedtomeasurethehues
Noticingthesimilarityisnoticingthatthedifferencesarenegligibleincomparison
Aunitisanexistentregardedasagroupoftwoormoresimilarmembers
Anexistentregardedinacertainway
Itsanobjectinsofarasyoureawareofitinacertainform
Itsamanseenblurrily,notablurryman
ThetwoexistentsaresimilaralongaCCDbydifferingthemwiththefoil
Nothingisaunitinandofitself
Isanexistentregardedacertainwaybecauseitstandsinacertainrelationtosomething
else
Toregardsomethingasaunitistotakeaspecificperspective:theunitperspective
Ex:Lookingataspecificshirtandrecallingthatitsthesameasothershirtsanddifferent
frompants
Atthispointtheawarenessofthesimilarities/differencesisfleeting
Togetbeyondthisisaprocess
Thisprocessistheomissionofmeasurement
Thismeanshavingarangeofmeasurementsinsideofwhichtheexistentlies
Byomittingthespecificmeasurementsofeachexistentwerenotspecifyingwhereinthe
rangethespecificexistentlies
Thereforeregardingtheexistentasaunitmeanstreatingasthesamealltheexistents
whichdifferintheprecisemeasurements
Inthissense,measurementomissionismeasurementinclusion[!!]
Integratesourawarenessofmanysimilarexistentsintoasingleunitaryawareness
Thenextstepistheintroductionofawordtostandfortheconcept
Theperspectiveofeachunitfallingwithinarangeofmeasurementsbecomesassociatedwith
theword
Byholdingthewordinyourmind,thewordcanserveasasingleunitthatallowsyouto
grasptheentirerange
ThewordbluenowstandsforthethoughtprocessearlierThesetwoarethesamein
thewaythatthesedifferfromthese
Becomesmanageable[Crowepistemologycomesintoplayhere?Alsohelpsw/
automatization]
Theintegrationisanewmentalentity
Mentalentityisananalogoususeofthetermentity(isnotasubdivisionofentity)
Amentalentityisamentalstateorprocessthatisentitylikeinthatitisunitaryand
enduring
Ex:ARIisalegalentity
Itcanenterintoagreements,etc
Functionsasone
Aconceptisaninstitutionalizationofaperspective(theunitperspectivethinkingofthingsin
relationtootherthings)
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Toformaconceptistoputoneselfonapolicyofviewingthingsinacertainrelation
Inherentinthisisthefactthatconceptsareforwardlooking
AynRandcomparesthistoafilefolder
Afilenotonlyorganizesandcondensesdatathatonealreadyhas,itdoessoonthe
premisethatyouwillkeepupwiththeorganization
Ifyoustop,itstopsbeingasystemtoorganizeitstopsbeingafile
Ifyoustoppedusingconceptstoclassifyfuturethingstheybecomeamerecollection
Thereisabigdifferencebetweencontextomissionandmeasurementomission
Contextomissiondividesentitiesintodifferentelementsandfocusesonaspecificelement
Youhavelessinformationthanyoudidbefore
Measurementomissioninterrelatesentities
Youhavemoreinformationthanyoudidbefore
Thecreationofaunitarywayofviewingamultiplicity
CCDsneednotbeonedimensional
Ex:Colorsvaryalongatleastthreeaxis,Hue,Saturation,Brightness
Manynameswehaveforcolorsaremixturesofthese
Manyconceptsaremuchmorecomplicatedthanthis
Ex:Menlooksimilarinmanydifferentdimensions
Conceptsofentities
Wevebeenreferringtoattributesbutentitieswillgiveamorecompletepictureoftheconcept
formationprocess
Entitiesaremeasuredbymeasuringtheirattributes
Unitsinthisgrouparethesamebytheirdistinguishingcharacteristic(measurementsina
range)
Ex:Mansshapeisrestrainedtoaspecificrangeofmeasurements
NotjustthemeasurementswithintherangeoftheCCDthatareomitted
Oneomitsallmeasurementsalongallaxis
Ex:forman,thewaymanmoves,colorofskin,etc
Oneomitsthemeasurementsofallunknownattributesaswell
Ex:occupation,politicalviewsetc
Aconceptofanentityreferstothoseentitiesthatpossesstherelevantdistinguishing
characteristicalongtherelevantCCDwithwhateverothercharacteristicstheseentitiesposess
withwhateverrangesacrosswhateveraxistheycanbemeasured
Thepreviousexamplesofattributesdifferfromentityconceptsinthatthereisonlyonesingle
measurementtoomit
Butaconceptforacomplexexistent,thentheconceptincludestherangestheexistentfalls
intoalongallcommensurableaxis
TheCCDisthemeansofdistinguishingtheexistentbutitisnottheonlyattributewhose
measurementisomitted
Incontextomission,theattributethatyoufocusonistheonlyattributeyouconsider
Isapartialawarenssoftheexistent
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Measurementomissiondoesnotomitbutinterrelates
ThisisthepointatwhichtheOistEpistgetsrideoftheanalyticsyntheticdichotomy
Allotherviewsfallbackoncontextomissionandendupacceptingtheanalyticsynthetic
dichotomy
[MakessensesinceASdichotomyendsupequatingdefinitionwiththeconcept,which
meansequatingtheconceptwithitsessentialcharacteristic,whichiswhatcontext
omissionis]
Whyisitthatweendupwiththeconceptmanandnotmanshape
Ex:Considertwoconcepts:manandgreeny.
Greeny=anyexistentthatsgreen(alongwithwhateverothercharacteristicsthe
existenthas).Notjustgreen
Man=allexistentsthatfallintothemanshapecategory(andwhateverother
characteristicstheyhave)
Greenyisnotavalidconceptbecausegreenexistentshavenothingincommonother
thanbeinggreen
Men,OTH,sharemanycharacteristics
Becausemansshapeiscausallyconnectedtotheothertraits
Yourshapeaffectshowyoumove
Greenisnotcausallyconnectedtothetraitsofgreenies
Thefactthatmensharemanycharacteristicsmakesthemcommensurableaswholesand
notjustasindividualattributes
Agreenleaf,car,pairofglovesdonotshareotherattributesthatfallwithinarange
ThecharacteristicofyourdistinguishingCCDneedstobecausallyrelatedtootherCCDs
Conceptformationrequiresanessentialsimilarityonefromwhichfollowsmany
similarities[!!!]
Ex:CCDistheimportancethepersoncontributestohelpingtheleastcompetent
people
MotherTheresaononeside,Randontheother
WherewouldHitlerfall?SomewhereontheRandside
IfyouusedthisasaCCD,youdhaveaconceptunderwhichyoudgroup
togetherAynRandandHitler(youmightcallthisconceptfascist)
ThisisthesameproblemasGreeny
Definitionisastatementofthewayapersonisdifferentiatingtheunitsofaconceptfromallother
existents
Givenintermsofotherconcepts
Achildcantgivedefinitionsforfirstconcepts
Achildresolvesinnonconceptualformtodifferentiateonacertainpolicy
Wecanarticulatethepolicy,whichwouldbeadefinition
Hastwoparts:GenusandDifferentia
Genus:Specifiesawiderclassofcommensurablethingsofwhichtheunitsofthedefined
classwillbedifferentiated
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

Differentia:Showshowtheunitsofaconceptaredifferentfromtheotherthingswithinthe
genus
Isthedistinguishingcharacteristics
Isfundamentalcausesothercharacteristics
Ifoneconceptualizesagroupofexistents,therecanbealottolearnaboutthem
Asyoulearnmore,yourdefinitionscanbecomeobsolete
Youcandiscoveramorefundamentalcharacteristic
Oryoucanlearnofexistentswhichhavetheolddifferentiabutaredifferentfromthe
oldunitsinanimportantway
Ex:formingtheconceptofmanbaseduponshape(likeachildmaydo)andthen
comingacrossamansized/shapedpuppet
Theintegrationremainsthesameeveniftheessencehaschanged
Becauseyourestilldoingitonthesamebasis
Ex:thebasisoftheintegrationofmanwasnotmanshapealoneinisolation
Itwasbaseduponawholesetofsimilaritiesanddifferences
Yousawthesesimilaritiesanddifferencesasoutgrowthsoftheshape
Question:Whatisthevalidationofthistheory?
Itistheintrospectiveobservationofwhatyoudowhenyouformaconcept
Wecandistinguishtwothings:whatisthevalidationofagivenconceptandwhatisthe
validationofthistheory
Itsamistaketolookatconceptformationasifyoureapsychologist
Notaboutstudyingconceptsthatalreadyexist
Aboutstudyingwhatyourmindisdoingwhenyouformanduseconcepts
SamethingthatAristotledid
Yousaidwhenyouformaconceptyouomitthemeasurementsofallcharacteristics,couldthese
characteristicsbenoncommensurable?
No,whatonemeasuresareattributesthatarecommensurable
Innormalconceptformationthereisafoil,butwhataboutaxiomaticconcepts?
Youdontformtheconceptexistentbycontrasttononexistence
Thesearekindofaspecialcaseandthereareothers
Length,width
Psychologicaltimemeasurementsarenecessary
Whatyoudoisrecognizethatyourawarenessofcertainfactsisplayingacertainroleinyour
consciousnessdifferentiatedfromtheroleofotherfacts
Willtalkaboutwhattheseconceptsdoinfuturelecturesandwhytheirbasisisinperception
Whatscholarcalleditcontextomission?Andhowdootherepistemologiesfallbackoncontext
omission
JohnLinell(studentofSellers),papercalledLockesTheoryofAbstraction
Mostconceptualisttheoriestendtoberealistaboutsomeissuesandconceptualistaboutothers
Lockhimselfwasthisway
AlsoinKant,especiallyhislecturesonlogic
ObjectivistEpistemologyinOutlinePart2
GregSalmieri1Hr30min

SoundsjustlikeLocke
Thinkstheperceptsfromwhichoneabstractsarealreadyputtogetherbyimplicitinnate
conceptsonealreadyhas(thecategories)
Alsoinpsychologyonerunsacrossthephraseclassicalconcept
AlsoPlatoandSocratesgivenasexamples