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Post by ghostthinker25 on May 28, 2019 21:53:50 GMT
It's been a while since I started reflecting on certainty and got lost in a dark path of uncertainty. I believe language has great influence on my problems with certainty, since using it is the way we make sense of things. I went into a skeptical-like state (much like Descartes) and I just can't seem to return to my normal state. Ok, I'm certain of a few things, but I feel like I lost the control I had over my life because now I have doubts about several basic concepts all over my mind.
Many times I feel like I can't make correct statements about the present because I don't know if the things I've observed have changed. For example, if the laws of physics have changed really subtly and I can't perceive the difference, if people who had a specific behavior still have it and many other situations similar to those. Another thing is, since I can't read minds, I'm not sure of how I can tell if someone is telling me the truth or not, excluding a few cases in which I can directly observe the situation. I just don't know if the people who seem to love really do. I'm not sure if they're being honest when they say they love me. Also, I'm not sure about many things of the past. How can I be certain History isn't wrong? How can Historians know if someone didn't lie or if a group of people didn't decide to lie?
The last part, which is the unclearest to me, is the future. It's a mistery. How can I tell things aren't going to change? People say "I'm going to do this" or "I will do that", but how can they be sure they're right? I don't see a way to tell if I'll be alive in the next few minutes, so how can people believe they're right?
Well, I don't really know what to do to reach peace of mind. I feel stuck in this stressful state of disorientation. How can I escape this?
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Post by Elizabeth on May 28, 2019 22:38:02 GMT
I guess the best thing to do is to test your knowledge and trust. For example, the longer you know a person the more you'll be able to know if they will lie to you based on what you have observed. If they don't have good qualities after giving them tests then it's best to walk away or avoid much contact. Probably, with tests don't give them something huge to see if they pass. Do little things and work your way up based on how they do. And with knowledge it's the same. For example, I don't trust everything in a history book but that's ok because we don't need to have all the facts to live. We can live not even knowing much about history. It's my least favorite subject anyway so I just stay away from it. You don't need to let something have an affect on your life if you don't want it to. What laws of physics changed? What else are you struggling with?
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Post by ghostthinker25 on May 28, 2019 23:25:24 GMT
By the laws of physics changing, I mean changes so small they're almost imperceptible if you don't examine them extremely carefully. For example, the formula of universal gravitation no longer having the "inversely proportional to the square of the distance" part, but now saying "inversely proportional to rhe square of the distance plus 0.000000000000000000001". It might sound farfetched, but what proof do we have that those laws aren't changing subtly if we're not observing them? That just bugs my mind. It's like I can only reach certainty using a priori thoughts. Inductions seem unreliable. That's been making me struggle a lot.
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Post by karl on May 28, 2019 23:45:44 GMT
By the laws of physics changing, I mean changes so small they're almost imperceptible if you don't examine them extremely carefully. For example, the formula of universal gravitation no longer having the "inversely proportional to the square of the distance" part, but now saying "inversely proportional to rhe square of the distance plus 0.000000000000000000001. It might sound farfetched, but what proof do we have that those laws aren't changing subtly if we're not observing them? That just bugs my mind. It's like I can only reach certainty using a priori thoughts. Inductions seem unreliable. That's been making me struggle a lot.
One cannot rule out that the laws are changing, but what you're referring to in regards to gravity is that Einstein's field equations describe gravity more accurately than Newton's laws. As I'm sure you'd agree, this is not about the laws themselves changing, but rather that our understanding of the laws is becoming more accurate.
That one has been able to find laws to describe the physical world that allows one to both land a spaceship on the moon and build computers, does indicate that the laws don't tend to change, at least not in narrow time scales. May fundamental constants change over a vast period of time? Maybe. It could be that sometime in a very distant future, the speed of light, for example, is slightly different. I could also be that the cosmological constant, which might be what drives the expansin of the universe, also changes over time.
And if laws do change over time, it would be established with induction. Induction doesn't produce certainty, only probability. It's what tells us that gravity, in all likelihood, will still pull us down to the ground tomorrow as well as today, but it doesn't tell us that it's certain. Any kind of certainty must be found through introspection. You know you exist, you know you're frustrated by lack of certainty, you know you have consciousness, and, although some disagree, you also know you have free will. That's the kind of certainty you may find.
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Post by ghostthinker25 on May 29, 2019 0:07:08 GMT
Sorry if this seems silly, but part of my uncertainty problem is making statements. I'm a linguistic enthusiast, so I like analyzing words and sentences. Sure, the future, many times, is pretty much described by probability. However, it seems odd to me that people say things such as "I will buy tickets tomorrow" or "I will be back next week" if they're not sure of the future. If they are, what logical proof do they have? At least, I guess people are certain when they say stuff like that. I don't usually hear people saying "I should be back next week", unless they think the probability of something unexpected happening is somewhat considerable. Wouldn't always speaking with probability markers sound odd?
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Post by karl on May 29, 2019 0:27:59 GMT
Sorry if this seems silly, but part of my uncertainty problem is making statements. I'm a linguistic enthusiast, so I like analyzing words and sentences. Sure, the future, many times, is pretty much described by probability. However, it seems odd to me that people say things such as "I will buy tickets tomorrow" or "I will be back next week" if they're not sure of the future. If they are, what logical proof do they have? At least, I guess people are certain when they say stuff like that. I don't usually hear people saying "I should be back next week", unless they think the probability of something unexpected happening is somewhat considerable. Wouldn't always speaking with probability markers sound odd?
The certainty lies in the decision. "I will buy tickets", means: "I know I have decided to buy tickets." It doesn't mean that they know for sure that it will happen. They would easily acknowledge that they will only buy tickets unless something happens that will prevent them from it. In fact, that is what the phrase "God willing" refers to. "God willing, I will buy tickets tomorrow.", which means that I have every intention to buy tickets, but acknowledge that something might happen that I don't have any control over.
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vicky
Full Member
Help ever; Hurt never
Posts: 115
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Post by vicky on May 29, 2019 5:09:49 GMT
Perhaps what you seek is Truth. What is Truth? Truth is not merely telling the facts about what you see or hear or know. These are temporal truths. Facts relate to momentary appearances. Truth relates to unchanging reality. In its full sense Truth can be applied only to what comes out of your heart in its pure and unsullied form as the voice of conscience. It is true for all time – past, present and the future. It is not affected by changes in time or place. Time does not transform it, creation does not increase it, Pralaya (Destruction) does not reduce it. History does not stain it. Truth lives eternally in full. The ancient seers called it “Ritham”. It is unchanging and cannot be suppressed. It is folly to think that you have to search for Truth somewhere. To know one’s Self is Truth. How can man realize the Truth? He can do this only when he experiences non-dualism. As long as he is steeped in dualism (that he and divine are different) he is bound to be racked by the opposites, joy and sorrow, the real and unreal.
Universe is dependent on Truth. If there is no Truth, there is no Universe. Truth is of eternal quality. No one can change it. Nor hide it. Truth is God. All wealth, all riches emerge from truth only. God is the embodiment of Truth. Truth alone is God’s abode. Dharma(righteousness) permanently lives in Truth. Vedas, the repository of knowledge and wisdom emanate from Truth. Truth alone is the royal path. Truth is knowledge – Infinity, Brahman. Wherever Truth is followed, there lives Dharma. There is no Dharma higher than Truth. There is no morality higher than Truth. Through Truth, you can experience love; through love you can visualize Truth.
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Post by thesageofmainstreet on May 29, 2019 19:24:14 GMT
It's been a while since I started reflecting on certainty and got lost in a dark path of uncertainty. I believe language has great influence on my problems with certainty, since using it is the way we make sense of things. I went into a skeptical-like state (much like Descartes) and I just can't seem to return to my normal state. Ok, I'm certain of a few things, but I feel like I lost the control I had over my life because now I have doubts about several basic concepts all over my mind. Many times I feel like I can't make correct statements about the present because I don't know if the things I've observed have changed. For example, if the laws of physics have changed really subtly and I can't perceive the difference, if people who had a specific behavior still have it and many other situations similar to those. Another thing is, since I can't read minds, I'm not sure of how I can tell if someone is telling me the truth or not, excluding a few cases in which I can directly observe the situation. I just don't know if the people who seem to love really do. I'm not sure if they're being honest when they say they love me. Also, I'm not sure about many things of the past. How can I be certain History isn't wrong? How can Historians know if someone didn't lie or if a group of people didn't decide to lie? The last part, which is the unclearest to me, is the future. It's a mistery. How can I tell things aren't going to change? People say "I'm going to do this" or "I will do that", but how can they be sure they're right? I don't see a way to tell if I'll be alive in the next few minutes, so how can people believe they're right? Well, I don't really know what to do to reach peace of mind. I feel stuck in this stressful state of disorientation. How can I escape this? Perfectionism Leads to ParalysisDon't get dragged into the pit dug by those whose undeserved power creates unnecessary, unrealistic, and depressing thought-patterns. Those don't represent the times we live in; they force on us a world we never made and should be rejected as fear-mongering. It's the loud buzzing of insects that can't bite us unless we let them. Before they suppressed Words to Live By, the phrase was, "He Who Hesitates Is Lost."
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Post by xxxxxxxxx on May 30, 2019 22:25:23 GMT
You can always be certain of assuming phenomena with this assumption being a state of emptiness in which reality in imprinted on the observer.
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Post by archlogician on Jun 3, 2019 1:38:30 GMT
I believe that the above discussion addresses a number of the problems you have postulated above, but I want to add one additional thought.
You put forth the situation where-in the laws of physics change slightly, but imperceptibly so. Were this the case, then so long as you content yourself with never speaking at a level of detail whose resolution equates to the magnitude at which such changes become apparent, then you can speak with certainty for the truthfulness of your statement is invariant under such small perturbations. Of course this assumes the overall accuracy of the scientific law, but I would contend that pragmatically you can do no better, at least without being an expert, than to default to the assumption that well supported scientific theories are at least approximately correct. One can never achieve a higher level of certainty than this, so from a pragmatic perspective I would deem this, in effect, absolute certainty.
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Post by xxxxxxxxx on Jun 4, 2019 21:36:57 GMT
It's been a while since I started reflecting on certainty and got lost in a dark path of uncertainty. I believe language has great influence on my problems with certainty, since using it is the way we make sense of things. I went into a skeptical-like state (much like Descartes) and I just can't seem to return to my normal state. Ok, I'm certain of a few things, but I feel like I lost the control I had over my life because now I have doubts about several basic concepts all over my mind. Many times I feel like I can't make correct statements about the present because I don't know if the things I've observed have changed. For example, if the laws of physics have changed really subtly and I can't perceive the difference, if people who had a specific behavior still have it and many other situations similar to those. Another thing is, since I can't read minds, I'm not sure of how I can tell if someone is telling me the truth or not, excluding a few cases in which I can directly observe the situation. I just don't know if the people who seem to love really do. I'm not sure if they're being honest when they say they love me. Also, I'm not sure about many things of the past. How can I be certain History isn't wrong? How can Historians know if someone didn't lie or if a group of people didn't decide to lie? The last part, which is the unclearest to me, is the future. It's a mistery. How can I tell things aren't going to change? People say "I'm going to do this" or "I will do that", but how can they be sure they're right? I don't see a way to tell if I'll be alive in the next few minutes, so how can people believe they're right? Well, I don't really know what to do to reach peace of mind. I feel stuck in this stressful state of disorientation. How can I escape this? Are you sure you are uncertain about things?
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Post by prophettom on Jun 5, 2019 15:22:56 GMT
There are no grantees. Just the cold hard truth. You have to do the best you can with what you got. The choices you make not only affect you and your unknown future but all those involved in the aftermath of the choices you make. Try and be kind. It is the best way to insure a decent future for most. But there are no guarantees
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Post by Polaris on Jul 23, 2019 19:36:48 GMT
Sorry if this seems silly, but part of my uncertainty problem is making statements. I'm a linguistic enthusiast, so I like analyzing words and sentences. Sure, the future, many times, is pretty much described by probability. However, it seems odd to me that people say things such as "I will buy tickets tomorrow" or "I will be back next week" if they're not sure of the future. If they are, what logical proof do they have? At least, I guess people are certain when they say stuff like that. I don't usually hear people saying "I should be back next week", unless they think the probability of something unexpected happening is somewhat considerable. Wouldn't always speaking with probability markers sound odd? I have an argument for believers only. Muslims use the expression " If God Wills" with future actions. God is the supreme power that controls the laws of physics and God is always Constant.
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Post by xxxxxxxxx on Jul 23, 2019 22:28:21 GMT
Everything moves through a continual alternation ranging from:
1. Heartbeat/Breathing 2. Moods 3. Seasons 4. Economies 5. Empires
Etc.
All things move through alternation; with this movement setting the foundation for all reality. The universe, even with its expansion and contraction, exists through continual pulses as a pulse in itself. This dualism, grounded in alternation, effectively joins itself as "being".
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Post by Elizabeth on Jul 24, 2019 4:55:13 GMT
Everything moves through a continual alternation ranging from: 1. Heartbeat/Breathing 2. Moods 3. Seasons 4. Economies 5. Empires Etc. All things move through alternation; with this movement setting the foundation for all reality. The universe, even with its expansion and contraction, exists through continual pulses as a pulse in itself. This dualism, grounded in alternation, effectively joins itself as "being". Wouldn't it technically be as "temporary being"? Numbers 2 and down all exists until 1 stops for a person. And I guess 1 with everything can stop if world stops being too. So it's continual to an extent basically. Because continuous usually means a never ending cycle but it can end though
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