The Book Of The Arrow

"Knowledge"

1. People claim to know many things.
2. Most of them are mistaken.
3. Some of them are lying.
4. The following system may help clarify this complex situation.
5. The first form of "knowledge" is actually perception.
6. Which includes everything you see, hear, sense etc., including internal states such as emotion.
7. Raw perception is not knowledge as it is quite possible that you are consistently mistaken.
8. Other things also usually confound it. For as soon as you see something and think "That is a chair" or feel something and think "I am angry" you have strayed beyond perception.
9. Into the realm of opinion.
10. Which covers virtually everything that is commonly called knowledge.
11. That all religious, political and ideological beliefs are a matter of opinion is quite clear.
12. From the fact arguments about them can last centuries without either side even listening to the other.
13. However it should be noted that scientific theories are also a matter of opinion.
14. Although usually more useful than the opinions of politicians or theologians.
15. For although the sentence "All unpowered objects observed by people I consider reliable have seemed to fall to earth at a constant rate of acceleration." merely describes a bunch of perceptions.
16. The statement "An invisible force called gravity causes objects to fall to Earth at a constant rate of acceleration" is opinion.
17. As there could be another explanation, no matter how unlikely.
18. To say "Any object I drop will fall to Earth" is also stating an opinion.
19. Although not one I myself would bet against.
20. However the only way to be sure of that statement would be to have already dropped it in those exact circumstances, including location in time.
21. This does not appear to be possible.
22. All this however does not invalidate science; it is rather a warning to the researcher to be aware that they are undoubtedly oversimplifying matters.
23. It should be pointed out that this system is itself an opinion.