Greg Detre
8/2/01
Skyrms � very useful, very clear
intersting � New Riddle of Induction
put aside causation in discussing induction - we�re mostly worried about regularity
if you have faith in reason, you must have faith in regularity
you�ve already rejected the Evil Demon
what�s involved in faith in reason?
2+2=4� undoubtedly self-evident
yet the Evil Demon could be deceiving me with the subjective certainty
but we can't maintain this doubt, because we believe in reason
analytic � true in virtue of the meaning of the terms used (e.g. 2+2=4)
vs synthetic � there are 2 chairs in this room
assumed that a priori/posteriori and analytic/synthetic correspond
but Kant overturned this idea with the �synthetic a priori� (which allows new knowledge through reason)
if there are synthetic a priori truths, it poses a big problem for Hume
what reason do we have for believing that the world would be regular?
can't justify induction deductively
nor with induction (that would be circular)
coherentist about knowledge + truth
is Strawson�s 2nd analytic proposition analytic??? a priori???
not just any variety of circumstances
synthetic a priori � substantive knowledge about the world from reason
is this synthetic???
analytic but applicable to the world
the truth of an inductive argument � probable according to the truth of the premises � Allais
simplest hypothesis is likely to be true � synthetic or analytic = non-rational, proverb
Strawson � induction is fine in a chaotic universe, but that we cannot make any inductions(???)
analytic = acquiring certain knowledge about the world???
sanguine atheist + theist = intellectual dishonesty
Kant � rational to believe in God + free will
even though you can't have konwledge
because there isn't only deductive reason�
evident� to us that there are reasons for acting that we are moral
is a faith in reason necessarily a faith in regularity???
can't reject the Evil Demon on the basis of reason???
why � because it�s so reliable!???
because of the nature of the concepts involved
belief in reason = synthetic a priori???
does that help �/span> uniformity of nature???
imposssible entirely red + green (opp colours) � analytic???