On Certainty
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Ludwig Wittgenstein's work On Certainty explores the complex relationship between knowledge and certainty, positing that they are distinct concepts and neither necessarily entails the other. Wittgenstein argued that certainty is not about apprehension or "seeing," but rather about a form of acting. A proposition is considered certain when its truth, and the truth of related propositions, is a presupposition within a community's social activities. This means that the foundation of our language games lies in our actions, not in immediately evident truths. The work challenges the idea that certainty is solely based on immediate, self-evident truths, suggesting instead that it is embedded in the practical, everyday use of language and the shared activities of a community.12
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epistemologyMental and nonmental conceptions of knowledge… (1889–1951), for example, said in On Certainty, published posthumously in 1969, that “ ‘Knowledge’ and certainty belong to different categories. They are not two mental states like, say, surmising and being sure.” Philosophers who deny that knowledge is a mental state typically point out that it is characteristic of mental…
Read More… (1889–1951), for example, said in On Certainty, published posthumously in 1969, that “ ‘Knowledge’ and certainty belong to different categories. They are not two mental states like, say, surmising and being sure.” Philosophers who deny that knowledge is a mental state typically point out that it is characteristic of mental…
Read More- epistemologyKnowledge and certainty
…one taken by Wittgenstein in On Certainty. Wittgenstein held that knowledge is radically different from certitude and that neither concept entails the other. It is thus possible to be in a state of knowledge without being certain and to be certain without having knowledge. For him, certainty is to be…
Read More…one taken by Wittgenstein in On Certainty. Wittgenstein held that knowledge is radically different from certitude and that neither concept entails the other. It is thus possible to be in a state of knowledge without being certain and to be certain without having knowledge. For him, certainty is to be…
Read More