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Carmelics
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    Carmelics

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

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    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Knowledge of first principles is certain

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.What counts as a 'first principle' varies across cultures and historical periods, suggesting social construction rather than self-evidence.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Aristotle's law of non-contradiction, often cited as a paradigm first principle, was rejected as non-fundamental by Hegel's dialectical logic.
      ?

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    • 3.If first principles were genuinely self-evident to the intellect, rational disagreement about their content would be impossible, yet it demonstrably occurs.
      ?

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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Descartes' First Meditation demonstrates that the reliability of the intellectual faculties that 'see' first principles is itself open to systematic doubt.
      ?

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    • 2.Scotus's account is circular: certainty of first principles depends on intellectual reliability, which cannot be established without appealing to those same principles.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.The intellect has only to form judgments about first principles to see that they are true
      ?

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    • 2.First principles are self-evident upon intellectual formation
      ?

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