UnMooring

[00:00:00]Okay. [00:00:01]So let's go back and reset. Right. [00:00:03]This is chapter two, [00:00:05]and we're talking about epistemology [00:00:07]and the central question

[00:00:08]behind that word. [00:00:10]Epistemology. [00:00:10]Epistemology is like shorthand [00:00:12]for a question. Right. [00:00:13]And the question behind epistemology is

[00:00:16]how do we know what we know? [00:00:19]Now, when we ask this question, [00:00:20]how do we know what we know? [00:00:23]As I mentioned earlier, [00:00:24]the way you ask the question

[00:00:26]has a big impact on the kind of answers [00:00:29]that you come up with. [00:00:30]In philosophy, the WAY that you ask [00:00:32]the question [00:00:33]has a big impact

[00:00:34]on how you answer the question. [00:00:36]I need a hammer, not a spoon. [00:00:37]So we've got [00:00:38]to think about different ways [00:00:39]of asking this question

[00:00:40]so we can come up [00:00:41]with different ways of answering it. [00:00:43]So if we think about the fact that [00:00:47]what we know, we know [00:00:48]lots of different kinds of things.

[00:00:50]Wait, [00:00:51]so when we think about the wide variety [00:00:54]of the kinds of things [00:00:55]that we as humans know, [00:00:58]then we realize that

[00:00:59]there are lots of different “how’s” right? [00:01:01]So we know different things [00:01:02]and we know different things [00:01:04]in different ways. [00:01:05]one thing

[00:01:06]it might be good to do [00:01:07]is think about pluralizing [00:01:09]that word epistemology. [00:01:11]Right. [00:01:11]And talk about epistemologIES

[00:01:13]in the plural. [00:01:15]another way of asking it then may be [00:01:18]what are some of the different ways [00:01:20]of knowing and again, [00:01:23]remembering that we know different things

[00:01:26]right there. [00:01:26]Different kinds of things that we know, [00:01:27]and we know those different things [00:01:29]in different ways. [00:01:30]So that's what we're gonna look at.

[00:01:31]Now, usually referred to [00:01:33]as the four epistemologies [00:01:34]we'll look at what those four are, [00:01:37]but we can also call that into question. [00:01:38]Maybe there's

[00:01:39]more than four different ways of knowing. [00:01:43]We begin by giving a quick overview [00:01:45]of what [00:01:45]these ways of knowing are, [00:01:46]and then we'll dive a little bit

[00:01:47]more deeply into some of these four ways. [00:01:49]So one of the ways that we know [00:01:51]or through dreams. Right? [00:01:53]so I mean, we dream and we [00:01:55]how do we know our dreams,

[00:01:56]what we know using our imagination [00:01:59]that's a different thing than like [00:02:00]actually experiencing something. [00:02:02]Being in the moment, [00:02:03]dreaming about ice cream

[00:02:04]The ice cream dream. [00:02:06]or remembering [00:02:07]ice cream is very different [00:02:08]than tasting ice cream. [00:02:10]Eating ice cream,

[00:02:11]we know things in a sensual way [00:02:13]using our five senses, right? [00:02:15]So we tasting is different [00:02:17]than reading about something. [00:02:19]Hearing is different

[00:02:19]than reading about something, right? [00:02:22]Being in the moment, [00:02:23]experiencing things with [00:02:24]our five senses [00:02:25]is a different way of knowing.

[00:02:27]So we've got two ways [00:02:29]of knowing one imaginative, [00:02:30]another one sensual, [00:02:32]but also rational knowledge, right? [00:02:33]We can learn things from reading books.

[00:02:35]We can learn things from science, [00:02:37]we can learn things from math. [00:02:39]We can learn things from listening [00:02:41]and talking to other people. [00:02:42]We can learn things through words

[00:02:43]and through numbers. [00:02:44]And so that we refer to as rational [00:02:47]knowing it's a different way [00:02:48]of knowing than those other things. [00:02:49]It's a way of of knowing,

[00:02:51]using our rational mind, [00:02:53]which is different [00:02:54]than our sensual bodies, right? [00:02:56]They may not be totally separate [00:02:58]from one another,

[00:02:59]and they're not totally separate [00:03:00]from one another, [00:03:00]but they are distinct. Right? [00:03:02]It's very different [00:03:03]to read about ice cream

[00:03:05]in a book than it is [00:03:06]to taste ice cream, right? [00:03:08]So there's three ways of knowing, [00:03:11]imaginative, sensual, rational. [00:03:14]And then the fourth way of knowing

[00:03:16]at least [00:03:16]according to Socrates, is [00:03:18]what we call intellectual knowing. [00:03:19]And we know different kinds of things. [00:03:21]Intellectually,

[00:03:23]it's a different way of knowing [00:03:24]than is other than these other three. [00:03:27]It's more abstract, [00:03:28]it's very abstract thinking. [00:03:30]And so it becomes very difficult

[00:03:32]to describe [00:03:33]what intellectual [00:03:34]thinking or intellectual [00:03:36]knowing is [00:03:37]and how it's different

[00:03:37]from these other three. [00:03:39]But it is indeed different. [00:03:41]And it's different primarily [00:03:42]in the content of that knowing, right? [00:03:45]So let's think about the

[00:03:46]various things that we know, [00:03:48]so we [00:03:49]can have rational knowledge of things. [00:03:52]We can have sensual knowledge of things, [00:03:54]which comes from that

[00:03:56]directly experiencing things, [00:03:58]directly sensing things, [00:03:59]using our five senses. [00:04:01]That's where we got this word [00:04:02]sensual, meaning

[00:04:03]those five senses can also dream. [00:04:09]we have knowledge of our dreams [00:04:11]that that's a different way [00:04:12]of knowing than these other kinds. [00:04:13]What about memories?

[00:04:18]when we remember something, [00:04:20]Remembering the taste of ice [00:04:21]cream is again [00:04:22]different than tasting ice cream. [00:04:25]We can also sometimes imagine things

[00:04:27]that's that [00:04:29]we can't see, taste, touch [00:04:31]or smell or feel right? [00:04:33]So we can imagine things [00:04:34]using our creativity.

[00:04:36]We Can you imagine? [00:04:38]So imaginary things, [00:04:43]including especially things [00:04:45]that we create, right? [00:04:46]So this is be

[00:04:47]where our creativity comes in. [00:04:51]we're going to draw lines [00:04:52]between these types of knowledge. [00:04:56]I'm not going to draw a clear distinction [00:04:58]between these.

[00:05:00]There are different, [00:05:01]but they're also in the same category. [00:05:03]But then there's [00:05:05]another category above rational knowledge [00:05:08]that we're going to call ideas

[00:05:09]and forms, right? [00:05:11]So we can have rational knowledge, [00:05:13]but that's different than [00:05:14]sort of abstract ideas and forms. [00:05:19]But this is on epistemology,

[00:05:21]so we're talking about the various ways [00:05:22]of knowing brain. [00:05:23]So these are the [00:05:24]types of things that we know. [00:05:26]So how do we know what we know?

[00:05:28]These are things that we know, right? [00:05:30]These are the contents of our knowledge. [00:05:32]But the question here in epistemology [00:05:34]is how do we know the various [00:05:35]things that we know? So

[00:05:38]we have experience of sensual knowledge, [00:05:40]sensual things through sensual, knowing [00:05:46]So sensual knowing involves [00:05:48]our five senses, right? [00:05:49]Seeing, hearing, tasting,

[00:05:51]touching, smelling, [00:05:52]feeling, those sort of things. [00:05:55]We also know these things [00:05:56]using our imagination. [00:05:58]So we'll call that imaginative knowing.

[00:06:02]And then lastly, [00:06:03]as you might have [00:06:04]guessed, intellectual knowing. [00:06:08]And of course, intellectual knowing [00:06:10]is knowing using our intellect.

[00:06:12]And we'll [00:06:12]talk more [00:06:13]clearly about what we mean by that [00:06:15]as we move forward. [00:06:16]But for now, we're

[00:06:17]just trying to clarify the distinctions [00:06:20]to recognize [00:06:20]that there are different ways of knowing [00:06:22]and there are different contents [00:06:23]for those various ways of knowing

[00:06:26]all of this. [00:06:26]By the way, [00:06:27]this sort of schema, [00:06:29]these four epistemology, [00:06:30]these four ways of knowing

[00:06:32]these four types of [00:06:33]knowledge or four kinds of knowledge [00:06:35]comes from Socrates, [00:06:37]as most of Western philosophy does. [00:06:40]It comes actually from

[00:06:45]it comes from Book six of the [00:06:47]Republic, which is written by Plato [00:06:49]and Socrates is the star of that show. [00:06:51]We'll look at Book [00:06:52]seven of the Republic later

[00:06:54]on, primarily [00:06:55]in Chapter eight, [00:06:56]when we get to the allegory of the cave. [00:06:59]The allegory of the cave [00:07:00]comes directly after Socrates

[00:07:03]explains these four ways of knowing. [00:07:04]And in fact, [00:07:05]when we get there, [00:07:06]we'll come back [00:07:07]to these four ways of knowing,

[00:07:09]and we'll begin to see [00:07:10]that the various [00:07:11]that the whole allegory of the cave [00:07:13]is actually an allegory for [00:07:16]a way of understanding

[00:07:18]these different levels [00:07:19]or ways of knowing. Right. [00:07:21]Those who are down in the cave [00:07:22]or seeing images [00:07:24]and imaginary things on the wall,

[00:07:26]which is different than sensory [00:07:28]sensing, right? [00:07:29]Seeing, hearing [00:07:30]and tasting the real things [00:07:31]and the world,

[00:07:32]which is different than rational knowing. [00:07:34]and certainly different [00:07:35]than the ideas and forms [00:07:37]in an allegory, the cave [00:07:38]which we'll get to later.

[00:07:39]I'm just kind of giving [00:07:40]you foreshadowing, [00:07:41]kind of connecting some dots [00:07:42]from now until where we will go later. [00:07:46]Then he'll use ideas and forms.

[00:07:48]We'll use the image of the sun, right? [00:07:51]So those people that are down the cave [00:07:53]or down here [00:07:54]seeing these things [00:07:55]and the difference between

[00:07:57]these ways of knowing [00:07:58]and these ways of knowing [00:08:00]or contents of knowledge is as different [00:08:01]as the shadows on the wall [00:08:03]and the allegory of the cave

[00:08:05]and the sun in the sky. [00:08:07]Right? [00:08:08]So pretty big difference [00:08:09]between those ways of knowing. [00:08:11]Now, about 1800 years

[00:08:15]later, after Socrates [00:08:16]gave us all of these things [00:08:18]Socrates gave it to us through Plato [00:08:20]in the allegory of the cave in [00:08:21]Book VI of the Republic,

[00:08:23]many centuries later, [00:08:24]Nicholas of Cusa, [00:08:25]I mentioned to him a few times before, [00:08:27]won't be the last time [00:08:27]you hear about him.

[00:08:29]he revisited all of this. [00:08:31]He revisited it, certainly agreeing. [00:08:33]And primarily with Plato [00:08:35]and but also giving us [00:08:36]a new perspective on things

[00:08:39]and really emphasizing [00:08:40]the verbal aspect of knowing rates. [00:08:44]Knowing is something that we do, right? [00:08:46]It's a verb, right? [00:08:48]So really emphasizing

[00:08:49]that knowing is a verb, [00:08:50]knowing is an activity. [00:08:52]And like most verbs, [00:08:54]there are different ways [00:08:55]of doing something right.

[00:08:56]I can run, but I can run slowly. [00:08:59]I do run slowly, I can run slowly. [00:09:02]Or I can run quickly. Right? [00:09:03]So we have difference. [00:09:04]Or I can run

[00:09:06]haphazardly or I can run chaotically, [00:09:08]or I can run frantically. [00:09:09]Lots of different ways of running. [00:09:10]likewise, [00:09:11]there are different ways of knowing.

[00:09:13]So really emphasizing [00:09:14]that knowing is a verb, [00:09:16]knowing is an activity [00:09:18]and ongoing activity. [00:09:19]And there are various adverbs

[00:09:21]that we could add to it. Right? [00:09:23]And so, Cusa kind of takes all of this [00:09:25]and the simplifies it, [00:09:27]he says that we know [00:09:29]imaginary things imaginatively,

[00:09:31]we know sensual things sensually, [00:09:34]we know rational things rationally. [00:09:37]We know intellectual things [00:09:39]intellectually. [00:09:40]Well, sounds

[00:09:41]pretty simple and obvious, right? [00:09:43]But he also says [00:09:44]there are also other ways of knowing [00:09:46]besides the straight [00:09:48]and the main one

[00:09:49]that he adds, [00:09:49]in addition to these [00:09:50]is what he calls spiritual knowing. [00:09:53]Right? [00:09:53]So we know that he says

[00:09:55]we know imaginary things, [00:09:56]imaginatively sensual things, sensually [00:09:58]rational things rationally, [00:10:00]but we also know [00:10:01]spiritually spiritual things

[00:10:03]spiritually, right? [00:10:04]There are some times [00:10:05]when we know something [00:10:06]we can't quite say why we know it. [00:10:08]It's just something that we feel.

[00:10:09]There's something that, [00:10:11]you know, it seems like [00:10:13]it seems like [00:10:13]it comes to us through nature [00:10:15]comes through us through

[00:10:17]the atmosphere [00:10:18]comes to us [00:10:18]through ways that we can't quite [00:10:20]put our finger on. Right. [00:10:22]And so Nicholas of Cusa

[00:10:24]calls this “spiritual knowing.” Right. [00:10:26]But again, [00:10:27]it's emphasis [00:10:28]on the verbal aspect, right? [00:10:30]So we know spiritual things spiritually.

[00:10:33]So it's a knowing [00:10:35]that's in the moment, right. [00:10:36]A way of knowing [00:10:38]that is different [00:10:38]than these other things, other kinds.

[00:10:40]So we'll come back to that [00:10:41]notion of spiritual knowing [00:10:43]in the next chapter [00:10:44]when we're studying phenomenology, [00:10:47]probably coming back

[00:10:47]to it more than once, [00:10:51]Let's give some examples. [00:10:52]Let's try and make all this [00:10:53]a little bit more concrete. [00:10:54]why do we call it sensual knowledge.

[00:10:56]for society? [00:10:58]So no. Yeah. [00:11:00]Because you know what, three [00:11:01]or five senses, right? [00:11:02]So seeing, hearing,

[00:11:05]tasting, smelling, touching, right? [00:11:07]So we know this through our five senses [00:11:10]Good. [00:11:11]So is that pretty? [00:11:13]It's a pretty reliable.

[00:11:14]pretty reliable, right? [00:11:15]If you see someone, [00:11:16]your eyes tend to believe it, [00:11:18]hear something with your ears, [00:11:19]tend to

[00:11:20]at least know what you heard right. [00:11:23]Um. [00:11:24]Is it always is 100%. [00:11:28]No. [00:11:28]Can you give an example?

[00:11:29]Or? LSD. [00:11:32]It's true. Very true. [00:11:34]Yeah. Yeah. [00:11:35]Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Yup. [00:11:37]Yep. Yeah.

[00:11:38]Sometimes you're [00:11:38]expecting to see one thing [00:11:39]because in this context [00:11:41]this makes sense, right? [00:11:42]And then you see something

[00:11:43]and you're like, [00:11:45]you just assume it's [00:11:46]that thing that you're expecting. [00:11:47]And then you, [00:11:48]then you look again

[00:11:49]and you're like, Wait, [00:11:50]it's not what I was expecting, right? [00:11:51]I wasn't expecting that in this context. [00:11:53]Yeah. Really good. That's [00:11:56]what defines sensual

[00:11:57]is that, you know, with your five senses. [00:12:01]What about rational? [00:12:02]What defines rational? [00:12:03]Did what defines rational knowledge? [00:12:05]We've got that word ratio in there.

[00:12:08]so a ratio is always [00:12:09]one thing to another, right? [00:12:10]You need two things, right? [00:12:13]You need some sort of a [00:12:14]comparative relation

[00:12:16]to know one thing from another, right? [00:12:18]To learn two, you need two things, right? [00:12:24]So ratio is like if I'm making breakfast, [00:12:28]you know, then [00:12:31]then I'll have like

[00:12:33]one part orange juice and three parts [00:12:35]vodka, Right? [00:12:36]And that's [00:12:38]just to get everything started right. [00:12:40]So you need like a, a

[00:12:41]ratio is a ratio of one thing to another. [00:12:45]In Latin, this word ratio means ratio, [00:12:49]but it also is the word for mind, ratio [00:12:52]and ratio is something that we know [00:12:55]with our mind,

[00:12:55]but it's something that we know [00:12:57]either in numbers [00:13:00]Yeah, I'll just read a definition. [00:13:07]Rational knowledge is any knowledge [00:13:09]that can be expressed

[00:13:11]in either words or numbers or both. [00:13:14]You know, [00:13:14]So anything that can be expressed in [00:13:17]words and numbers [00:13:18]should count as rational knowledge.

[00:13:19]If you can put a definition to it, [00:13:21]if you can define it in the dictionary, [00:13:23]everything in a dictionary [00:13:24]is rational knowledge. [00:13:25]Everything that you can get from

[00:13:26]mathematics is rational knowledge. [00:13:28]Everything you can get from [00:13:29]science is scientific, right? [00:13:31]Is rational knowledge. [00:13:32]Rational knowledge

[00:13:33]is things that can be expressed [00:13:35]in words and numbers. [00:13:36]if it cannot [00:13:38]be expressed in words or numbers, [00:13:41]it's not rational.

[00:13:42]Knowledge does not mean [00:13:44]it's irrational, right? [00:13:45]Irrational is a different word. [00:13:48]We'll deal with that later, [00:13:51]but we just say rational versus

[00:13:52]non rational. [00:13:54]So if it's if it's rational, [00:13:56]then it can be expressed [00:13:57]in words or numbers. [00:14:00]Makes sense, right?

[00:14:03]When you're learning something through, [00:14:05]right. [00:14:05]When you're learning those archetypes [00:14:08]and you point it at something [00:14:10]and you're like, Mommy, what's that?

[00:14:12]What is that? [00:14:14]What is that? [00:14:15]They answer you in words usually, right? [00:14:18]They say that [00:14:19]this is a coffee cup

[00:14:20]or this is a Chihuahua, [00:14:22]this is whatever it is, right? [00:14:23]They give you a name [00:14:25]and then you learn the name, the words [00:14:28]to associate with that thing

[00:14:29]that you're seeing with your eyes. Right. [00:14:32]So you see the dog with your eyes [00:14:34]and then that sensual knowledge. [00:14:37]You don't need anybody [00:14:38]to tell you what you see. Right?

[00:14:39]But then you need a name for it. [00:14:41]So when you learn that name, [00:14:44]then that's rational knowledge [00:14:47]and it helps you distinguish [00:14:48]between a dog and not a dog.

[00:14:50]Right. Or a table And not a table. [00:14:53]Rational knowledge is inherently binary. [00:14:57]rational is inherently binary, [00:14:59]it's always a binary between [00:15:01]So between

[00:15:01]whatever it is that [00:15:03]that you're talking about, Right. [00:15:05]And it's opposite, the opposite of a is [00:15:09]not a opposite of black is [00:15:16]not black.

[00:15:17]The opposite of a dog is [00:15:22]not a dog. [00:15:23]What’s the whole point or goal [00:15:25]of philosophy. [00:15:26]Why do we do philosophy?

[00:15:28]What's the goal of philosophy, [00:15:30]To help us make better decisions. [00:15:32]And a decision to make a decision [00:15:38]is to make what? [00:15:40]to make a cut

[00:15:41]to make a cut, [00:15:42]to make a cut and make a decision [00:15:44]like incision. Right. [00:15:46]Incision is to cut some thing in scissors [00:15:49]or what you cut with.

[00:15:50]Right decision is just to make a cut. [00:15:53]Right. [00:15:54]So if you're [00:15:55]if you've at a crossroads, right. [00:15:56]You've got two possibilities.

[00:15:59]Am I going to choose this or not? Right. [00:16:01]So to make a decision [00:16:03]is to choose that or not that right. [00:16:07]Have you ever had... [00:16:11]you know, this happens.

[00:16:12]I mean, as a dad all the time, um, [00:16:15]Has somebody ever [00:16:16]looked at you and said, like, [00:16:18]well, I mean, why didn't you do it? [00:16:20]Why didn't you do it this way?

[00:16:21]Like, why did you do it that way? [00:16:23]Why didn't you do it this other way? [00:16:24]Right? [00:16:26]Make you feel dumb. [00:16:27]Sometimes people are like,

[00:16:28]Why did you do that? [00:16:29]where somebody says, like, [00:16:30]why didn't you do it this other way? [00:16:32]That's so much more [00:16:33]easy than the way you did it.

[00:16:35]And usually your answer is what Yeah. [00:16:37]didn't think of it right. [00:16:38]You can't do you can't choose an option [00:16:40]if you don't think about it. Right. [00:16:42]Why didn't I think of that?

[00:16:43]So it only becomes an option [00:16:45]if you think about it. [00:16:46]So there's like the option [00:16:49]that you're thinking about versus [00:16:50]not that option.

[00:16:51]And so the answer is, [00:16:52]why didn't I think of it? [00:16:53]Why didn't you do this? [00:16:54]It's like, well, [00:16:55]I didn't think about doing it that way.

[00:16:57]Right. [00:16:57]So that option, yes, [00:17:00]it was a possibility. [00:17:01]Yes, it was an option. [00:17:02]But I didn't think about doing it

[00:17:04]that way. Right. [00:17:04]So that wasn't in my head. [00:17:07]If you wish to reach a good decision [00:17:08]on any topic, my boy. [00:17:10]There is only one way to begin.

[00:17:12]You must first [00:17:13]know what the decision is about. [00:17:15]Otherwise, you're bound to miss your [00:17:16]target altogether. Right. So [00:17:18]So, to make a decision, you have

[00:17:21]a decision is always between one thing [00:17:24]and not doing that thing. [00:17:25]And computers [00:17:26]are extremely good at rational knowledge. [00:17:30]This is way better than us at this

[00:17:35]way, better at this than us, right? [00:17:37]That's right. [00:17:37]Way better than I said this. [00:17:39]so a computer is good at sort of [00:17:41]like knowing the options and.

[00:17:43]And discerning between the options. [00:17:45]what is binary? [00:17:46]What does binary language [00:17:48]look like and computer like what? [00:17:50]When we talk about binary language,

[00:17:51]what do we what do we mean by that? [00:17:53]in zeros and ones. [00:17:54]Right. It's always either here. [00:17:57]Well well, [00:17:58]a equals one and not a equal zero.

[00:18:01]Right. [00:18:02]And the computer [00:18:02]speech one means on zero means off or. [00:18:07]Yes. Right. And no. [00:18:10]Pretty simple. Right.

[00:18:11]So it's either one or zero. [00:18:14]It's either on or it's off. [00:18:15]Either yes or no. [00:18:16]Right. That's just how that's. [00:18:19]That's how a computer

[00:18:20]what computer doesn't think. Right. [00:18:22]A computer calculates. [00:18:23]And that's how it makes its calculations. [00:18:24]It's binary between this or that. [00:18:27]kind of skipped imaginative.

[00:18:28]But that's okay. [00:18:29]This feels right [00:18:30]imaginative knowing these are [00:18:32]these are definitions, right? [00:18:34]So dreams count Dream,

[00:18:35]dream, dream, dream, dream, dream. [00:18:38]memories. [00:18:39]You know, [00:18:40]I can remember what [00:18:41]ice cream tastes like. Ice.

[00:18:42]I kind of like I said a minute ago, [00:18:44]that's still different [00:18:44]than sensual knowing. [00:18:46]It's certainly different [00:18:46]than reading about ice cream

[00:18:48]when we use the phrase [00:18:49]artificial intelligence, [00:18:52]I mean, artificial intelligence. [00:18:54]what does that mean? [00:18:58]We've got this

[00:18:59]word intellect right in here, [00:19:02]which is not totally different [00:19:03]than the word [00:19:05]intelligence. [00:19:08]Right.

[00:19:08]So it is an artificial intellect [00:19:10]or an artificial intelligence. Yeah. [00:19:13]So it's a computer [00:19:15]So you start it up [00:19:16]and then it goes on its own

[00:19:17]kind of thing. [00:19:18]Yeah. Good. [00:19:19]I was going to say [00:19:20]maybe something positive. [00:19:22]Isn't that what it is?

[00:19:23]Isn't that what I think? [00:19:24]That's a really good way of. [00:19:25]That's how I think about it, right? [00:19:27]Is that [00:19:28]the what

[00:19:29]the difference [00:19:30]every computer does [00:19:31]this is what a computer does. [00:19:33]Right. [00:19:33]Is a not a you tell it.

[00:19:36]If this is the case, then choose this. [00:19:38]If this is not the case, [00:19:39]don't choose this. Right. [00:19:40]That's just basic programing. [00:19:43]But artificial intelligence is able

[00:19:44]to make the decision itself, Right? [00:19:46]So then you're programing it like us [00:19:48]then saying [00:19:49]and saying [00:19:50]when you get to this situation,

[00:19:52]then you have to make a decision. [00:19:53]Right. [00:19:55]And how do you [00:19:56]how do you know if a computer [00:19:57]is like making a decision

[00:19:59]or just doing what [00:20:01]it's programed deciding [00:20:02]which program to decide [00:20:03]in a particular place? Right. [00:20:05]no easy answer to that.

[00:20:06]We're not going [00:20:07]to solve that one right now, [00:20:08]but at least you get the point [00:20:09]right of the difference [00:20:10]between intellect.

[00:20:11]What is the intellect? [00:20:13]How have we defined intellect? [00:20:15]Up till now, [00:20:16]intellect is the part of the human person [00:20:18]that does what Well, not quite.

[00:20:20]I mean, it thinks true, [00:20:22]but it's something more specific [00:20:24]Yeah, that's right. [00:20:25]The intellect is [00:20:26]the part of the human person

[00:20:27]that makes decisions, right? [00:20:29]So intellectual knowing is [00:20:33]part of that, making decisions. [00:20:36]But what about these ideas? [00:20:37]things that fall under

[00:20:39]the category of ideas and forms are [00:20:42]things that are abstract, [00:20:43]things that are beyond words. [00:20:45]An abstract noun is generally [00:20:48]and usually ends in the letters

[00:20:50]“-ness”, right? [00:20:51]So like team ness or good [00:20:54]ness or happiness, [00:20:57]those sort of things, right? [00:20:58]They're abstract nouns. I can be happy.

[00:21:00]I know what it feels like [00:21:02]when I am happy. [00:21:03]probably give a rational account of what [00:21:04]the word happy means, [00:21:06]but that's certainly different

[00:21:07]than being happy. [00:21:09]but happiness is something more abstract [00:21:12]and philosophy is primarily interested in [00:21:15]these are primarily focused [00:21:17]on these very abstract

[00:21:18]things that we'll call ideas and forms. [00:21:20]And so part of the point [00:21:22]of organizing [00:21:24]our thought patterns into these [00:21:26]for epistemology is

[00:21:28]primarily is just to know it, right? [00:21:30]So that we can be clear [00:21:32]when we're using our language, [00:21:33]when we're talking about [00:21:36]anything, right.

[00:21:37]That just about anything [00:21:39]should be able to fit [00:21:39]in one of these categories. [00:21:41]And we want to be careful [00:21:41]to kind of keep the lines clear

[00:21:43]when we're communicating [00:21:44]with another person. [00:21:45]What we're talking about. [00:21:46]Are we talking about dreams? [00:21:48]Are we talking about memories

[00:21:49]or are we talking imaginative, [00:21:51]imaginative, knowing? [00:21:52]Are we talking about things [00:21:53]that we've seen, smelled, heard to us? [00:21:55]You write directly

[00:21:56]the sort of direct experience [00:21:58]using our five senses, [00:21:59]or are we talking about things [00:22:00]that other people have told us? [00:22:01]Or are we talking about things

[00:22:02]that we've read in a book [00:22:03]or they tell you about things [00:22:04]that we can [00:22:05]measure in terms of measure [00:22:06]or describe and using words and numbers?

[00:22:09]Or, are we talking about more abstract [00:22:10]ideas and forms, you know, [00:22:13]This is abstract thought. [00:22:15]and the ideas and forms [00:22:16]that are going to occupy our attention

[00:22:18]most in this course [00:22:20]are things like truth, justice, equality [00:22:24]and beauty. [00:22:25]None of those actually end [00:22:26]in the word ness, not all abstract nouns.

[00:22:29]end in “-ness” [00:22:31]There are four stages. [00:22:32]This is the first [00:22:33]nonobjective fragmentation. [00:22:35]but most do.

[00:22:37]We can take most words [00:22:38]and then abstract them [00:22:40]using In the second stage, [00:22:42]we're deconstructing. [00:22:43]But some words don't need it right?

[00:22:45]Justice. We don't have justice ness. [00:22:47]We just have justice. [00:22:48]Justice is already an abstract noun, [00:22:50]No we're two dimensional [00:22:52]that’s stage three!

[00:22:54]equality authority, [00:22:55]something abstract in beauty [00:22:56]is something abstract, right? So [00:22:59]We're not figurative. [00:23:01]This is the last.

[00:23:02]these these are these primary forms [00:23:05]justice, equality, beauty and goodness. [00:23:08]That's one of those abstract nouns [00:23:10]that has a “ness” at the end [00:23:12]that are going to occupy our attention.

[00:23:13]A lot. [00:23:14]One other thing I want to mention, [00:23:16]which is [00:23:17]a key reason [00:23:18]why I bring up Nicholas of Cusa

[00:23:19]and a key way [00:23:20]that he's different than Socrates. [00:23:22]One can get the idea [00:23:23]from reading Plato's Republic [00:23:25]that,

[00:23:25]not only are there [00:23:27]four different ways of knowing, [00:23:29]but because Socrates teaches [00:23:31]this in the context [00:23:32]of his allegory of the cave,

[00:23:34]which he clearly prefers straight, [00:23:36]that we get liberated [00:23:37]and emerge out of the caves, [00:23:39]and we can have these [00:23:40]sort of intellectual

[00:23:41]knowing these experiences [00:23:43]or intellectual knowledge of justice, [00:23:46]truth, beauty [00:23:47]and those sort of ideas and forms. [00:23:49]One could get the idea

[00:23:50]that there's a clear hierarchy [00:23:52]or preference [00:23:53]for this way of knowing versus [00:23:55]these other ways of knowing. [00:23:56]And I think for Socrates,

[00:23:58]that might be true. [00:23:59]But Nicholas, [00:24:00]of Cusa points out that, [00:24:02]you know, [00:24:02]these are just different ways of knowing

[00:24:04]and we shouldn't prioritize [00:24:06]and say that intellectual [00:24:07]knowing is better than sensual knowing, [00:24:10]because in our actual experience, [00:24:13]it's better to sense that to live

[00:24:17]actually live in a world [00:24:19]that's filled with beauty [00:24:20]and justice and harmony and equality [00:24:24]than it is to have philosophical [00:24:26]discourse about them.

[00:24:27]Even if we understand [00:24:28]them intellectually, [00:24:30]it's still, [00:24:31]you know, [00:24:32]it's still very different to understand

[00:24:33]it intellectually than it is [00:24:35]to actually live in a world [00:24:36]that's filled with justice [00:24:38]and those sort of things. [00:24:39]So it's one thing

[00:24:40]to have an understanding of beauty. [00:24:43]It's another thing to see it, [00:24:45]So I think that's [00:24:46]enough for this section, [00:24:48]Just to recap,

[00:24:49]right, we're [00:24:51]talking about epistemology [00:24:52]central question behind epistemology. [00:24:54]Is that free, that question? [00:24:55]How do we know what we know?

[00:24:57]And here we're asking that question [00:24:59]with an emphasis on [00:25:00]how do we know what we know, [00:25:02]recognizing that the different things [00:25:04]that we know, we know in different ways.

[00:25:05]Right? [00:25:06]And primarily in these four [00:25:08]or five different ways, right? [00:25:10]We know imaginative things imaginatively [00:25:14]using our,

[00:25:14]you know, [00:25:15]through dreams and memories, [00:25:16]imagination, creativity, [00:25:18]that sort of things. [00:25:18]Right.

[00:25:19]We we know sensual things [00:25:21]using our five senses. [00:25:22]So seeing, tasting, [00:25:24]touching, smelling, feeling, hearing. [00:25:26]We know rational things

[00:25:28]rationally, right? [00:25:29]Using our rational mind. [00:25:30]welcome to that [00:25:31]a lot more in chapter six. [00:25:33]We know spiritual things

[00:25:34]spiritually, right? [00:25:35]Something more intangible [00:25:37]than any of these other ways. [00:25:39]And intellectually, [00:25:40]we know ideas and forms intellectually,

[00:25:44]So when I use that word epistemology, [00:25:46]the question should come to mind [00:25:47]How do we know what we know and why? [00:25:49]I use the phrase for epistemology. [00:25:51]There are various ways of knowing

[00:25:52]then this is the framework [00:25:54]that we're talking about, right? [00:25:55]Which originally comes back [00:25:56]to Socrates and Plato and [00:25:58]and the Republic,

[00:26:00]but also gets transformed [00:26:02]and understood in different ways [00:26:03]by different philosophers. [00:26:05]And I invite you to understand it [00:26:06]and explore it in your own way,

[00:26:10]Break time. [00:26:11]Break time. [00:26:12]When I was little, [00:26:14]My brother stole everything. [00:26:16]He would come and steal all my shoes

[00:26:18]and he would just break everything. [00:26:21]And so I developed this spray. [00:26:24]It's called Bannon Brother Spray [00:26:26]It has no casualties. [00:26:27]You just go

[00:26:30]see and they’ll run away immediately [00:26:35]Are you kidding me? [00:26:38]Bannon Brother Spray!! [00:26:42]All dirty now! [00:26:44]What are you doing?

[00:26:45]Get away! [00:26:49]See! Works like a charm. [00:26:50]Only problem... [00:26:51]is that you can run out quickly, [00:26:53]but then you can just come back.

[00:26:56]Bannon Brother Spray [00:26:58]Now $5. [00:26:59]Phone! [00:27:02]If you have little brother problems, [00:27:04]you can go come to my store

[00:27:06]And buy Bannon Brother Spray! [00:27:09]So next [00:27:10]I want to approach this question [00:27:12]again of epistemology. [00:27:14]The central question of epistemology is

[00:27:15]how do we know what we know? [00:27:17]But let's come at it [00:27:17]from a different direction, right? [00:27:19]And not just from a different direction, [00:27:20]but actually

[00:27:21]from a different history [00:27:22]of thinking and a whole different [00:27:24]philosophical approach. [00:27:26]What we've mostly been doing up to [00:27:27]this point is studying

[00:27:28]Western way of approaching [00:27:30]this question of epistemology. [00:27:31]But the Greeks aren't [00:27:33]the only philosophers [00:27:34]in the world, right?

[00:27:35]And so let's see how Indian [00:27:37]philosophy and Indian [00:27:38]philosophers approach [00:27:39]this question of how do we know [00:27:41]what we know?

[00:27:48]Okay, So now we're going to [00:27:49]come back to this question. [00:27:50]How do we know what we know? [00:27:51]But ask it [00:27:52]the way that Indian

[00:27:54]philosophers have asked it [00:27:55]for thousands of years. [00:27:57]And in the same way [00:27:58]that we back to the Greek tradition [00:28:00]and looked at the Greek texts,

[00:28:01]we'll start looking at the Sanskritic [00:28:03]tradition. Right. [00:28:04]So how is this [00:28:05]question been asked [00:28:06]among thinkers in Sanskrit?

[00:28:08]And if we were to ask the same question [00:28:10]from this perspective, [00:28:12]then we might put more emphasis on [00:28:13]How do we KNOW what we “know”? Right? [00:28:16]How can we be certain

[00:28:18]that the knowledge, [00:28:18]the things that we think we know, [00:28:20]what degree of certainty can we have? [00:28:22]And in Indian philosophy, [00:28:24]it's recognized that, well,

[00:28:26]we can never be 100% [00:28:27]certain of anything that we know. [00:28:29]So let's sort of think clearly [00:28:31]about the various sources of knowledge [00:28:33]we know what we know

[00:28:34]from various different sources. [00:28:36]And so from an Indian [00:28:37]philosophical perspective, [00:28:39]Indian philosophers [00:28:40]ask, well,

[00:28:40]what is the source of that knowledge [00:28:42]and how valid is that knowledge [00:28:44]and how certain are we [00:28:45]that we're understanding it [00:28:46]or perceiving it in the right way?

[00:28:48]So the Indian [00:28:49]philosophical tradition is huge. [00:28:51]and there's millions of philosophers over [00:28:54]thousands of years [00:28:55]that have asked these questions.

[00:28:56]So I'm going to narrow our focus [00:28:58]in the same way that we did [00:28:59]in the Western tradition, [00:29:00]focusing more on Socrates [00:29:02]and that Greek tradition,

[00:29:03]which is in the only Western tradition [00:29:05]we're going to narrow [00:29:06]similarly in the Indian [00:29:07]philosophical tradition, [00:29:08]and I'm going to focus on primarily

[00:29:10]in this guy named Sabara [00:29:13]Sabra was a Mimamsaka [00:29:15]Now, our dates on Sabara [00:29:16]aren't 100% certain, [00:29:18]from the early centuries

[00:29:19]of the common era. Right. [00:29:21]First, second third century, [00:29:22]somewhere around there [00:29:23]And the ideas of I'm going to give you [00:29:24]now don't necessarily

[00:29:25]come directly from Sabara [00:29:27]He's part of a longer tradition [00:29:28]and he's a great thinker [00:29:30]within that tradition. [00:29:31]but in the Indian tradition,

[00:29:32]what we call in the West, [00:29:33]epistemology is usually referred [00:29:35]to as the PramAnas [00:29:37]So PramAna theory. [00:29:39]So the word “pramAna”

[00:29:41]is usually translated or defined [00:29:44]as a valid source of knowledge. [00:29:47]And Sabra and his tradition [00:29:50]give these valid sources of knowledge [00:29:52]in a particular hierarchy

[00:29:54]of trustworthiness. [00:29:55]so we can know things [00:29:56]from various sources. [00:29:57]And some of those sources [00:29:58]are more reliable

[00:29:59]or trustworthy than others. Right. [00:30:01]But Sabra would emphasize [00:30:03]none of them is going to be 100%. [00:30:04]We can always make mistakes, [00:30:06]as we'll see in the very first one.

[00:30:08]So the first [00:30:09]valid source of knowledge [00:30:10]or the first PramAna [00:30:11]that Sabara gives us is pratyaksha. [00:30:15]So the word pratyaksha

[00:30:16]actually means literally means [00:30:18]that which is in front of our eyes, [00:30:20]that which is right [00:30:21]before our eyes, right. [00:30:22]So direct perception

[00:30:25]direct sensual [00:30:27]perception, not [00:30:28]so directly [00:30:29]seeing right in front of our eyes. Right. [00:30:31]So that, Sabra says,

[00:30:33]is the most trustworthy. [00:30:34]If you see it, it's [00:30:35]right before your eyes. [00:30:36]If you touch it, if you hear it, if you [00:30:38]smell it,

[00:30:39]then that's going to be more reliable [00:30:41]than if somebody tells you [00:30:42]it's there, right? [00:30:43]If somebody tells you [00:30:44]if you see something

[00:30:45]and somebody says that's not there, [00:30:47]you're going to be like, No, [00:30:48]I'm going to trust my eyes [00:30:49]more than what [00:30:49]I'm being told by this other person.

[00:30:53]Right? [00:30:53]So pratyaksha [00:30:54]is the most reliable [00:30:55]or most valid source of knowledge, [00:30:57]that direct sensual perception, now?

[00:30:59]I would say [00:31:00]maybe this comes close to being 100%, [00:31:03]but as Sabara points out: it's not. [00:31:05]Sometimes we see something, [00:31:07]we think we see something,

[00:31:08]but then it turns out that [00:31:10]maybe we didn't [00:31:11]actually see what we saw, right? [00:31:12]So he says, use this example. [00:31:14]Like,

[00:31:14]what if you're walking on the beach, [00:31:16]you know, [00:31:16]and you see something shiny on the beach [00:31:18]and you think, Oh, [00:31:19]there's like a piece of silver

[00:31:20]there, right? [00:31:20]apparel or something. [00:31:21]But you run up and it's just a shell. [00:31:22]It's just a seashell [00:31:24]glistening

[00:31:25]that looks like something else. [00:31:26]But so you thought you saw one thing. [00:31:29]Another common example [00:31:30]that we'll maybe look at later in [00:31:31]the semester is suppose,

[00:31:34]you know, [00:31:34]it's like late at night [00:31:35]going out to the barn, [00:31:37]you know, to like feed the horse [00:31:38]or something like that.

[00:31:39]And, and I'm barefoot, you know, [00:31:41]and I go out [00:31:42]to the barn and I look down on the ground [00:31:44]and I see a snake, right. [00:31:45]And I jump back because I,

[00:31:47]like, almost stepped on the snake. [00:31:49]And the snakes are scary. Right? [00:31:51]And so if you see something on the ground [00:31:52]and you think it's a snake [00:31:54]and you jump back,

[00:31:55]then what you “saw” was a snake, [00:31:58]So that was right before your eyes. [00:31:59]But then you take a look back [00:32:01]and maybe you shine a light on it [00:32:02]and you see actually it's just a rope

[00:32:04]or it's just a garden hose or something [00:32:05]that was there. Right? [00:32:06]So direct perception is very reliable [00:32:09]but can sometimes be mistaken, [00:32:11]and it's more likely to be mistaken

[00:32:13]if the conditions aren't exactly right. [00:32:15]Right. [00:32:15]If it's kind of dark, [00:32:17]Shouldn't be out here in the dark. [00:32:18]then you can't see things clearly.

[00:32:20]If you're very tired, Just so tired. [00:32:24]you can't see things clearly [00:32:26]if you're intoxicated [00:32:28]or an altered state of mind [00:32:30]and you know

[00:32:31]your eyes are more likely to deceive you. [00:32:33]but nevertheless, [00:32:34]Pratyaksha is a pretty reliable [00:32:36]the most reliable source of knowledge. [00:32:38]Right.

[00:32:38]So if you see it, [00:32:40]if you taste it, if you hear it, then [00:32:42]it's hard for anybody to convince you. [00:32:43]Then what [00:32:44]you're seeing,

[00:32:44]tasting, touching, smelling, [00:32:46]feeling isn't actually the case right. [00:32:49]Which brings us to the second [00:32:50]source of valid knowledge. [00:32:53]AnumAna. AnumAna

[00:32:55]is usually translated as inference [00:32:59]So anumAna is logical [00:33:00]or rational inference. Right? [00:33:02]So one of the common examples here is [00:33:04]let's say

[00:33:05]you are at a distance range [00:33:07]and you see some smoke [00:33:09]going up in the sky, right? [00:33:11]So you can't see a fire there, [00:33:13]but you see smoke.

[00:33:14]So your direct perception is of smoke. [00:33:17]But because you know There's smoke. [00:33:19]There's fire. [00:33:21]that wherever there's smoke, [00:33:22]there must be fire,

[00:33:23]because smoke comes from fire, [00:33:25]then you can infer that [00:33:26]there's fire there. Right. [00:33:28]So you're not seeing the fire. [00:33:29]You're seeing the smoke.

[00:33:31]So your direct perception is telling you [00:33:33]there's smoke over there [00:33:34]and then you can infer that [00:33:35]there's fire there, Right? [00:33:37]Maybe you're mistaken.

[00:33:38]It could be water vapor. It [00:33:41]Oh, they didn't smoke it steam. [00:33:43]could be something else. Right? [00:33:44]It could be foggy or cloud [00:33:46]or it could be something

[00:33:47]that's not actually smoke. [00:33:49]Ionized gas, water vapor. [00:33:51]But if you're actually seeing smoke, [00:33:53]then you can infer [00:33:54]with great deal of confidence,

[00:33:56]that your knowledge [00:33:57]that there is a fire there is valid, [00:34:00]The word “anu-mAna” [00:34:01]is interesting in itself [00:34:03]because mAna is :thinking” and “anu”

[00:34:05]means “after,” [00:34:06]So it's a kind of thinking [00:34:07]that comes after. [00:34:09]After what? [00:34:09]Well, after pratyaksha

[00:34:11]So you see something [00:34:13]and then you infer based on that [00:34:15]after the fact. Right. [00:34:16]So you see smoke [00:34:18]and then after seeing smoke,

[00:34:20]then you infer that there's fire. [00:34:22]Right. [00:34:23]So again, this is pretty reliable. [00:34:25]It's reliable as long as you understand [00:34:27]logic and reason.

[00:34:29]so you can see why it's second. [00:34:31]The third is Shabda. Now “Shabda” [00:34:33]That literally means [00:34:35]Shambhala really means words, Word. [00:34:37]For word.

[00:34:38]Shabda [00:34:39]literally means word, [00:34:40]but it's often translated as “testimony.” [00:34:43]So the word or the testimony [00:34:45]that comes from somebody else. Right.

[00:34:46]So obviously not all, [00:34:50]not all words [00:34:51]or testimony is going to be valid. Right. [00:34:54]So then here, [00:34:55]the source of that,

[00:34:56]you know, [00:34:57]some words are going to be more [00:34:58]trustworthy than others. [00:34:59]And it depends then on [00:35:01]And it depends then on what is that

[00:35:01]where are those words coming from? Right. [00:35:03]If they're coming from an advertisement, [00:35:05]not very reliable. Right. [00:35:07]If they're coming from a parent [00:35:09]or teacher or caregiver

[00:35:12]or somebody who cares about you, [00:35:13]then it's very unlikely [00:35:14]that they're trying to deceive you. [00:35:16]Then you can [00:35:17]you can count that word or testimony

[00:35:20]from that trustworthy person [00:35:22]as more or less valid. [00:35:23]Right now, people still make mistakes. [00:35:25]They kind of misunderstood something. [00:35:27]They could have misperceived

[00:35:28]something or circumstances [00:35:29]could have changed between [00:35:30]when they saw [00:35:32]what they're telling you, Right. [00:35:33]Maybe they got things wrong or whatever.

[00:35:35]it's not as valid [00:35:36]as these other sources of knowledge. [00:35:39]Now, for for Sabara [00:35:40]when he said “shabda” [00:35:42]what he really meant

[00:35:43]was the scriptures, right? [00:35:45]So he's talking about the Vedas. [00:35:46]So the Vedas are the most [00:35:48]trustworthy testimony [00:35:49]and most trustworthy words.

[00:35:51]So that wisdom [00:35:52]that's been [00:35:52]passed down over thousands [00:35:54]and thousands of years, [00:35:55]you know, even by Sabara’s

[00:35:57]Point (Sabara’s time) [00:35:58]It has already been passed down [00:35:59]for 3000 years before him right? [00:36:02]So that testimony [00:36:04]that's been passed down over millennia

[00:36:06]and the Sabda [00:36:07]that he's talking about [00:36:08]is, you know, that wisdom [00:36:10]about truth and justice [00:36:12]and what does it mean to be a good person

[00:36:13]and how do you live an ethical life [00:36:15]and what are the right things to do [00:36:17]and what are the wrong things to do? [00:36:18]So those kind of things, [00:36:20]that sort of wisdom

[00:36:21]that is passed down [00:36:23]over millennia and passed down [00:36:24]through reliable sources, [00:36:26]which for Sabara was [00:36:29]was the Vedas

[00:36:30]So that is the valid source of knowledge. [00:36:33]Now, [00:36:35]one of the things [00:36:35]that is pointed out [00:36:36]is that

[00:36:37]even if the shabda said [00:36:39]a thousand times over, [00:36:40]that fire isn't hot, [00:36:42]that doesn't make it so, right? [00:36:44]So

[00:36:44]but even if the Scripture did say [00:36:46]fire is cold, [00:36:48]it doesn't change [00:36:48]the fact that fire is hot. [00:36:50]So if you were directly perceive you

[00:36:52]to touch the fire, it would be hot. [00:36:54]So so that's why it's you know, that's [00:36:56]why it falls under these [00:36:58]other categories. [00:37:00]Okay.

[00:37:00]So the next pramAna, or valid [00:37:02]source of knowledge is upamAna [00:37:04]and upamAna is usually translated [00:37:07]as sort of an analogy or comparison. [00:37:11]So analogy or metaphor,

[00:37:12]it probably works better, right? [00:37:13]So if if someone is trying to explain [00:37:15]something to you, right. [00:37:17]That you've [00:37:18]they're trying to tell you

[00:37:19]about something [00:37:19]that you've never seen before. Right. [00:37:21]So if you've never seen it before, [00:37:23]then how can you know what it is? Right? [00:37:26]So they're trying to explain

[00:37:27]something to you about something [00:37:29]maybe from a distant land. Right? [00:37:30]So they've [00:37:31]they're a traveler from somewhere else. [00:37:32]And they go they go somewhere else.

[00:37:34]They see some amazing things [00:37:35]and they come back [00:37:36]and they're trying to tell you, [00:37:37]you know, [00:37:38]I saw giraffes and you're like,

[00:37:39]you've never seen a giraffe before. [00:37:41]Thanks. [00:37:42]And this [00:37:43]this was an age [00:37:43]where you didn't have Google.

[00:37:45]So you can just look up and show [00:37:46]somebody a picture of a giraffe [00:37:48]or something like that. Right. [00:37:50]So how would you explain [00:37:52]what a giraffe is to

[00:37:53]somebody who's [00:37:54]never seen a picture of a giraffe [00:37:56]and has no idea [00:37:56]what a giraffe is [00:37:57]when you might start by saying,

[00:37:59]well, it's kind of like a cow, right? [00:38:00]So, I mean, it's a [00:38:01]like a cow or like a horse, Right? [00:38:04]But it's different than a cow. [00:38:05]And it's different than a horse

[00:38:06]because, you know, [00:38:07]it has this long neck, you know, [00:38:09]So we can start by something, [00:38:11]something familiar. [00:38:12]And here we might draw some comparison

[00:38:16]to what we talked about [00:38:17]in the previous section [00:38:18]with Nicholas of Cusa [00:38:19]and comparative relation. Right. [00:38:21]So you you're drawing

[00:38:23]you're drawing a comparison [00:38:24]to something that they've seen before, [00:38:26]Like you've seen this archetype before [00:38:28]and I'm telling you about something [00:38:30]that's different than that.

[00:38:31]But still in that same vein, right? [00:38:33]So drawing a comparison or analogy, [00:38:36]so obviously your understanding [00:38:39]of the thing that they're trying to [00:38:41]explain to you,

[00:38:42]you'll have a better understanding of it [00:38:45]after they give that analogy [00:38:46]because you're like, [00:38:46]okay, I've seen a horse. [00:38:48]So if I imagine a horse with a long neck,

[00:38:50]then you're probably in your mind [00:38:51]going to have an [00:38:52]image of a horse with a long neck, [00:38:54]which isn't exactly what a giraffe is. [00:38:56]Right?

[00:38:57]But it's going to it's [00:38:58]going to be better. [00:39:00]It's going to be a more [00:39:01]valid source of knowledge [00:39:02]than if you didn't have it right.

[00:39:03]And philosophy, in fact, [00:39:05]uses analogy, metaphor or imagery a lot. [00:39:08]Right. [00:39:09]Already in this course, already [00:39:10]in this video book,

[00:39:11]we've already talked [00:39:12]about the allegory of the chariot [00:39:15]in the allegory of the chariots. [00:39:16]Chariots as an allegory or as an analogy [00:39:20]is going to be running

[00:39:21]through this entire, [00:39:22]you know, philosophical quest. [00:39:24]And so it's helpful [00:39:25]to recognize where it falls in to this [00:39:29]to this hierarchy of

[00:39:30]valid sources of knowledge. [00:39:32]Now, I want to give you one more. [00:39:34]Almost nobody would give a list of five [00:39:37]with abhAva as the fifth one. [00:39:38]There are other pramAnas

[00:39:39]That we don't need to concern ourselves [00:39:42]with for this introductory- [00:39:43]level course. [00:39:45]But I do want to talk about abhAva [00:39:47]because it is a it's a very unique,

[00:39:49]valid source of knowledge. [00:39:50]It's one that's more controversial [00:39:52]even among Indian thinkers [00:39:54]and Indian philosophers [00:39:55]some philosophers,

[00:39:56]the ones that I have focused [00:39:58]most of my attention [00:39:59]on as a scholar [00:40:00]emphasized that abhAva stands on its own. [00:40:03]deserves to be treated

[00:40:05]as a valid source [00:40:06]of knowledge separate than these others, [00:40:07]It is a distinct way of knowing, [00:40:10]same way that analogy is very different [00:40:11]than, you know,

[00:40:13]logical inference [00:40:14]or it's very different [00:40:15]than these others, right? [00:40:16]Likewise, abhAva is a different valid [00:40:19]source of knowledge than others.

[00:40:20]So what is it about abhAva? [00:40:21]What is abhAva? [00:40:23]First, let's start with [00:40:24]what does the word mean? [00:40:25]“A” meaning “not” and “bhava” meaning “being”

[00:40:27]so not-being, absence or. [00:40:31]So absence or nonbeing. [00:40:34]How could absence [00:40:35]or non-being be a valid source of knowledge? [00:40:38]Right.

[00:40:38]This is [00:40:39]this is a topic that a lot of Indian [00:40:40]philosophers debate with one [00:40:42]another and like, [00:40:42]how could that be

[00:40:43]a valid source of knowledge? How can not-being [00:40:45]How can the nonbeing of something [00:40:47]be a source of knowing anything? [00:40:49]Because it's not there, [00:40:50]there's this other philosopher

[00:40:52]philosopher that comes after Sabara [00:40:54]a few centuries after Sabara [00:40:57]His name is KumArila Bhatta. Now. [00:41:00]KumArila Bhatta was a fantastic philosopher, [00:41:04]one of the great philosophers of

[00:41:06]of India, [00:41:06]and especially within this [00:41:08]Mimamsaka tradition [00:41:09]that Sabara is a part of. [00:41:11]And I've read a number of things by

[00:41:14]KumArila Bhatta [00:41:15]and I read his explanation, [00:41:18]his defense of abhAva as a pramAna [00:41:20]and found it [00:41:21]incredibly insightful, so insightful

[00:41:23]that I've shared it with classes, [00:41:24]you know, throughout time. [00:41:25]And I think that [00:41:26]it reveals something to us [00:41:29]that the other pramAnas don't.

[00:41:31]And KumArila Bhatta explains it very well. [00:41:33]And So I want to give the explanation [00:41:34]that KumArila Bhatta has given [00:41:36]in the shortest [00:41:37]period of time that I can

[00:41:39]I want to emphasize that as KumArila Bhatta [00:41:42]does that abhAva [00:41:44]is a valid source of knowledge [00:41:45]that teaches us [00:41:46]something that we can't learn

[00:41:48]from the other valid [00:41:49]sources of knowledge. Right? [00:41:51]So that's the defense of why [00:41:52]it stands on its own [00:41:53]and why

[00:41:54]it is different than these others. [00:41:55]It's not logical inference, [00:41:57]It's different than these others [00:41:58]because [00:41:59]it teaches us something

[00:42:00]that we can't know [00:42:01]from the other valid [00:42:02]sources of knowledge. [00:42:03]And the thing that it teaches [00:42:05]us, as KumArila Bhatta

[00:42:06]points out, is the relationship between cause [00:42:10]and effect, [00:42:12]So how do we [00:42:12]know that [00:42:13]something is the cause of something else?

[00:42:16]That's the question. [00:42:17]How do we know? Right? [00:42:18]So valid source of knowledge. [00:42:20]So the knowledge that we're seeking in [00:42:21]this case

[00:42:21]is the knowledge of the relationship [00:42:24]between cause and effect. [00:42:25]So how do we know that [00:42:27]something is the cause of something else? [00:42:29]Right?

[00:42:30]And the example that KumArila Bhatta [00:42:33]gives is [00:42:36]It may be foreign to you [00:42:38]if you have no experience with this. [00:42:40]and somebody who has a cow and

[00:42:41]lives on a farm [00:42:42]and who makes yogurt,, [00:42:43]this is an analogy that makes [00:42:46]this is an explanation [00:42:47]that makes a lot of sense to me

[00:42:48]as KumArila Bhatta explains [00:42:50]say you've got a bowl of milk [00:42:53]Bowl of milk? [00:42:55]Day one. [00:42:56]you milk the cow

[00:42:57]You put the milk in a bowl. I could put it in a bowl. [00:43:00]and then you just leave it there, right? [00:43:01]So you've got milk in a bowl. [00:43:03]Now you can [00:43:04]you know that you've got milk in a bowl

[00:43:05]because you can directly see [00:43:07]see it, right. [00:43:08]You look in the bowl, there's milk there. [00:43:10]You directly perceive milk. [00:43:12]Milk is in the bowl. Right.

[00:43:13]You know that milk is in the bowl, [00:43:15]because you can see it, [00:43:16]you could taste it, [00:43:17]you could smell it, you [00:43:18]He smelled like whole milk,

[00:43:19]you can touch it, [00:43:21]You can have direct [00:43:22]experience of the milk [00:43:23]that's in the bowl. Right. [00:43:25]So that's pratyaksha

[00:43:26]That's valid source of knowledge, [00:43:27]number one. [00:43:28]That's the most reliable. [00:43:29]But then you come back tomorrow, right? [00:43:32]You come back later,

[00:43:32]or maybe you stand there, [00:43:33]maybe you're diligent [00:43:34]and you stand there and you just wait, [00:43:37]Examining the milk. [00:43:38]Delving into milk consumed with milk.

[00:43:41]Right. [00:43:42]And you make sure that nobody else comes [00:43:44]and nobody else [00:43:44]messes with the bowl [00:43:46]or anything like that.

[00:43:47]And you wait. You come back a day. [00:43:49]Usually a day is enough, [00:43:51]but you come back a day or so later [00:43:52]and you look in that same bowl [00:43:54]where the milk was

[00:43:55]and you see that there's [00:43:56]no more milk there. [00:43:58]There’s a bowl [00:44:00]that had milk in it, [00:44:01]but now there's no milk

[00:44:02]And how do you know there's no milk? [00:44:04]Well, [00:44:04]because you see, [00:44:05]you directly perceive yogurt, right? [00:44:08]You look in the in the bowl,

[00:44:09]you see curd. Words. [00:44:12]The milk has turned into curd. [00:44:15]I could make curds and whey [00:44:16]So you could say, well, [00:44:17]I know that

[00:44:18]the milk is the cause of the curds [00:44:21]because I see the curd. Right. [00:44:24]But KumArila Bhatta is pointing out. [00:44:26]the you know that [00:44:27]the milk is the cause of the curd

[00:44:30]because you see the non being of the milk [00:44:35]right now here's something super, [00:44:38]super worth [00:44:38]knowing I think super insightful, [00:44:40]super interesting.

[00:44:42]See if you can follow me here [00:44:43]because the philosophy is the [00:44:44]and why this is so unique. [00:44:46]Why this It's such a unique example, [00:44:48]You have my undivided attention

[00:44:50]so you come one day [00:44:51]and you directly perceive milk [00:44:53]you come back [00:44:53]the next day [00:44:54]and you directly perceive

[00:44:55]curd in the same bowl. [00:44:57]That in and of itself, [00:44:59]KumArila Bhatta says is not sufficient [00:45:03]to tell us that the milk is the cause [00:45:06]of the curd.

[00:45:07]Now, here's the [00:45:07]super interesting, deep [00:45:09]philosophical point. [00:45:11]super important point [00:45:12]and the reason

[00:45:13]the abhAva is such an important pramAna [00:45:15]He says [00:45:16]when you are perceiving the curd... [00:45:19]in addition to perceiving the curd, you're [00:45:21]also perceiving the absence or the non

[00:45:24]being the abhAva of the milk. [00:45:27]Right? [00:45:27]So there [00:45:29]you’re perceiving the curd, [00:45:30]but you're also perceiving the nonbeing

[00:45:33]of the milk. Right. [00:45:35]And here's the super interesting part [00:45:37]because KumArila Bhatta’s point [00:45:39]to a large extent is that the milk [00:45:44]only becomes

[00:45:46]the cause of the curd [00:45:50]at the very moment that the milk [00:45:54]no longer exists. [00:45:58]Let me say that again. [00:46:00]The milk only becomes

[00:46:04]the cause [00:46:07]of the curd [00:46:09]at the very moment that the milk [00:46:13]ceases to exist [00:46:16]right.

[00:46:17]So what you're seeing is the curd [00:46:20]using your direct perception. [00:46:21]What you saw before was the milk. [00:46:24]But the milk only becomes [00:46:26]the cause of the effect at the moment

[00:46:29]that the cause ceases to exist. [00:46:32]So it only becomes a cause [00:46:35]when it stops existing, right? [00:46:38]So the nonexistence of the milk [00:46:41]is how we know that the milk is the cause

[00:46:45]of the curd. [00:46:48]this I think teaches us [00:46:50]something really profound [00:46:52]and really different [00:46:53]and really interesting

[00:46:54]about the relationship [00:46:55]between cause and effect, [00:46:57]at least [00:46:57]when we're talking about material cause, [00:46:59]a material effect.

[00:47:00]So the cause [00:47:02]when we talk about this causes that [00:47:04]So the milk is the cause, [00:47:06]the curd is the effect, [00:47:08]but the milk isn't the cause.

[00:47:10]When it's milk, [00:47:11]When it's milk, it's milk. [00:47:12]It's not the cause of yogurt, right? [00:47:15]It only becomes the cause of yogurt [00:47:18]at the very moment

[00:47:19]that it stops existing. [00:47:20]So a-bhAva, nonbeing... [00:47:23]So you perceive it's nonexistence [00:47:27]and that's how you know it is the cause, [00:47:29]because it only became the cause

[00:47:31]at the moment it ceased to exist. [00:47:34]My mind is literally blown right now [00:47:37]I hope you find that as profound as I do. [00:47:40]So one more time [00:47:42]the milk only becomes

[00:47:44]the CAUSE of the curd [00:47:47]at the very moment [00:47:48]that the milk ceases to exist. [00:47:51]So when we perceive [00:47:53]we perceive the effect, right,

[00:47:54]we perceive the curd [00:47:56]So we know that there's curd there [00:47:57]because we directly perceive it. [00:47:59]So it's not right. [00:48:00]So we perceive the curd.

[00:48:02]We know curd is there. [00:48:03]We know the curd exists [00:48:04]because we directly perceive it. [00:48:06]That's pramAna number one [00:48:07]Yesterday we directly perceived the milk,

[00:48:10]but we only understand this relationship [00:48:13]between cause and effect [00:48:15]when we recognize that the milk [00:48:17]had to cease existing [00:48:18]in order for the curd to exist.

[00:48:21]So the creator or the cause [00:48:24]in this case, [00:48:25]only becomes the cause [00:48:27]at the moment that it ceases to exist. [00:48:33]So what's our main takeaway?

[00:48:35]Our main takeaway from from this? Right. [00:48:37]Going back to the question, [00:48:39]central question of epistemology, [00:48:40]how do we know what we know? [00:48:42]In Indian philosophy,

[00:48:43]they're approaching this question. [00:48:44]How do we know? [00:48:45]We know from a [00:48:46]from a different perspective [00:48:47]than we've seen so far in this

[00:48:49]in this Greek Western tradition, Right. [00:48:51]So how do we KNOW what we know? [00:48:53]So how how, [00:48:55]how can we prioritize certainty? Right. [00:48:57]What about what sources of knowledge

[00:48:59]are more valid or more trustworthy, [00:49:01]more reliable than others? Right. [00:49:03]We see direct perception [00:49:04]is the most reliable, [00:49:06]but it can also be faulty.

[00:49:07]Right. [00:49:08]Shabara also emphasizes [00:49:09]that direct sensual perception [00:49:11]is not faulty at all. It's infallible. [00:49:13]What's fallible is humans, right.

[00:49:16]So he points out [00:49:17]that there are certain [00:49:17]that perception is a process, right? [00:49:20]So we may see a rope [00:49:22]and think that it's a snake,

[00:49:24]but that's not [00:49:25]because perception is faulty. [00:49:27]That's because the conditions weren't [00:49:29]quite right for perception. Right? [00:49:31]Maybe I was tired

[00:49:32]or maybe it was dark outside [00:49:34]or maybe I had seen a snake there [00:49:36]the day before or whatever. Right. [00:49:38]So there are other conditions, [00:49:39]other factors that come in

[00:49:40]to sort of like disrupt or enter [00:49:43]intervene in perception. [00:49:44]So perception itself is super reliable, [00:49:47]but sometimes [00:49:48]if the conditions aren’t right, then

[00:49:51]then we may not actually perceive [00:49:53]what's there. [00:49:54]So we may misperceive what is there, [00:49:57]But how do we trust knowledge? [00:49:59]Or how do we know

[00:49:59]if our knowledge is valid [00:50:01]if we didn't directly perceive [00:50:03]it ourselves? [00:50:04]Well, [00:50:05]Indian philosophers give us a process

[00:50:08]for understanding [00:50:09]how to mete things out, [00:50:11]right, how to sort things out, [00:50:12]and know [00:50:12]what sort of sources are

[00:50:14]more valid than others. [00:50:15]But hopefully another important takeaway [00:50:18]is that these pramAnas [00:50:19]actually teach us [00:50:20]different things, right?

[00:50:21]There are things that we can know [00:50:23]through analogy [00:50:23]that we couldn't know [00:50:25]from other sources of knowledge [00:50:26]There are things that we can learn through AbhAva

[00:50:28]that we couldn't know from other [00:50:30]other valid sources of knowledge. [00:50:32]There are certainly things [00:50:33]that we can learn, wisdom [00:50:34]that's passed down from those

[00:50:35]who lived lives before [00:50:37]us, who've been passing this [00:50:39]wisdom down over centuries or millennia [00:50:41]that we just couldn't know [00:50:43]without that source. Right?

[00:50:44]So these are valid [00:50:46]sources of knowledge and the [00:50:47]and one of the things [00:50:48]that all these Indian philosophers [00:50:49]emphasize is that they shouldn't

[00:50:51]ever be contradicting one another. [00:50:53]Right. [00:50:54]They are distinct, [00:50:56]valid sources of knowledge. [00:50:57]And if they're in contradiction

[00:50:59]with one another, [00:51:00]then there's a problem [00:51:01]with how we're interpreting [00:51:02]or how we're understanding them. [00:51:04]It's not a problem with the

[00:51:06]sources themselves. [00:51:08]I think that's more than enough.