Re: Knowledge and Belief

[John Cowan <cowan@locke.ccil.org>]

Rob Zook wrote:

> But if you look at a past system, you cannot affect the truth value
> of that system from the inside. The inside of the system is no longer
> accessible. So you cannot help but take a more inclusive view, which
> may include a copy of the previous system with a different truth value
> but that makes it obvous that your view cannot be compared the to old
> system on the same basis.

In theory that may be so.  But when I repudiate earlier claims of
truth, I am not normally adjusting my truth model, simply
my belief structure.  I do not say: "'Bantha is a cat' used to be
true (by my truth model), but now that I hear Bantha bark and
howl, I have changed my truth model so that the statement is
false."  I simply repudiate my previous belief that Bantha is a cat
and keep the same truth model.  Otherwise we are in the position
of saying that the Sun used to orbit the earth, but now does not,
a position that lojbab rightly rejects.  (We *can* create such
time-dependent metaphysicses, but they are decidedly abnormal.)

-- 
John Cowan	http://www.ccil.org/~cowan		cowan@ccil.org
	You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
	You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
		Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (FW 16.5)