Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Humans cannot attain clear knowledge of imperceptible thi... — Carmelics
    Home/Skepticism
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Humans cannot attain clear knowledge of imperceptible things, but can make reasonable judgments about them from perceptual signs.

    PerceptionSkepticism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Clear knowledge of imperceptible things belongs to the gods alone.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Humans have direct perceptual access only to what is perceptible.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Sensation provides signs from which humans can draw inferences (tekmairesthai).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Perceptual signs underdetermine their causes, allowing multiple incompatible explanations of imperceptible things.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If signs permit contrary reasonable judgments, the epistemic category 'reasonable judgment' collapses into mere conjecture.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Alcmaeon's own method of inference from signs cannot distinguish itself from sophisticated guesswork without a criterion he has not supplied.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Parmenides argued that reliable knowledge of reality requires rational necessity, not inference from deceptive perceptual appearances.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If imperceptible things are genuinely beyond perceptual access, then perceptual signs—themselves part of the unreliable phenomenal realm—cannot serve as a stable epistemic bridge to them.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    SkepticismPerception

    Key Terms

    knowledge(Distinguished from mere true belief, which may be the product of indoctrination and need not exercise deliberative capacities.)
    Justified true belief — true belief that has been arrived at through the exercise of deliberative capacities, including comparison of and deliberation among alternatives.

    Connections

    1 topic

    Divine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    Alcmaeon's own method of inference from signs cannot distinguish itself from sop...Clear knowledge of imperceptible things belongs to the gods alone.Humans have direct perceptual access only to what is perceptible.If imperceptible things are genuinely beyond perceptual access, then perceptual ...
    +4 moreShow less
    If signs permit contrary reasonable judgments, the epistemic category 'reasonabl...Parmenides argued that reliable knowledge of reality requires rational necessity...

    Similar

    Humans must draw inferences from perceptual signs rather than claim ce...83%Clear knowledge of imperceptible things belongs to the gods alone.78%If perception cannot operate, nothing can be known perceptually78%The uncognizability of things in themselves is not trivial on Allison'...77%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: alcmaeon
    View source passageHide passage
    Such skepticism about human knowledge is characteristic of one strand of early Greek thought. Both Alcmaeon’s predecessors (e.g., Xenophanes B34) and his successors (e.g., Philolaus B6) made similar contrasts between divine and human knowledge, but in Alcmaeon’s case, as in these other cases, we do not have enough evidence to be sure what he intended. Most of the subjects that Alcmaeon went on to discuss in his book could not be settled by a direct appeal to sense perception (e.g., the functioni
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Perceptual signs underdetermine their causes, allowing multiple incompatible exp...
    Sensation provides signs from which humans can draw inferences (tekmairesthai).
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit