"Could it be?"
Breif thoughts about knowlege, truth and mind
Presented by G10 and ChatGPT
Table of Contents
Where true belief can't be justified
Debate about necessary truth
Mind and Body, sperated or whole
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Eliminative Materialism
1
2
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Bob sees a green light
Green light means safe
Bob safely passes through
Gettier Problem
Case#1 The Green light case
3
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
"The traffic light is actually broken, it always shows green"
Bob luckily arrives at a time
when it's safe to pass
Gettier Problem
Case#1 The Green light case
4
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Case#1 The Green light case
In this case, Bob has a true belief
"I can pass through safely"
But his justification is flawed
"The green light means it's safe"
Gettier Problem
5
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Case#2 The baseball game case
Gettier Problem
It’s the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs.
The batter steps up to the plate, eyes locked on the closing pitcher. The count is full—this is it.
The pitcher winds up and fires a blazing fastball. The batter swings… and misses!
Having been struck out by the closer, he believes his team has lost the game. (Justified Belief)
6
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Case#2 The baseball game case
Gettier Problem
However, the catcher dropped the ball!
The uncaught third strike rule is in play. He sprints toward first base. Safe! The game is still alive!
The next batter hits a deep fly to right-center, and the outfielder makes an incredible leaping catch!
What a nice play!
This time, it’s really over.
The batter’s team has lost. (Truth)
7
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Case#2 The baseball game case
Gettier Problem
At first, he believed the game was over
when he was struck out by the closer.
His belief was justified—most of the time,
a swinging third strike ends the game.
And in the end, his belief was true
—his team did lose.
Did He Really Know?
8
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Cartesian Skepticism
Critiquing ChatGPT's response
The *cogito* and God’s benevolence ultimately anchor knowledge, showing that Descartes’ skepticism is a means to an end, not a final stance. The evil genius’s power over necessary truths is a dramatic device, not a metaphysical necessity for skepticism itself.
Temporary vs. Sustained Doubt
Cogito, ergo sum as necessary truth
Extreme doubt is not meant to be sustainable but to uncover indubitable foundations (e.g., the *cogito*).
This implies some necessary truths (like the *cogito*) are beyond deception, limiting the scope of skepticism.
Thus, while initial skepticism questions necessary truths, it does not hinge on their permanent doubt.
9
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
2 + 3 =
5
6
A
"Irrelevant"
The existence of an evil genius is just a premise that raises the problem "rather necessary truth is reliable", not a certain fact.
If one follow the trail of Descartes' thoughts, he himself denied such deity's ability to alter mathematical and logical rules since that will fundamentally defy what reality and rational thinking is based upon.
Cartesian Skepticism
Our response
10
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Our response to dualism
I find Descartes’s divisibility argument intuitively appealing because it captures our immediate, first-person experience of a unified consciousness. When we reflect on our inner life, we do indeed experience a kind of seamless unity that isn’t paralleled by the observable, segmented nature of our physical bodies. This contrast suggests that the mind might have a fundamentally different nature than the body.
11
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Our response to dualism
Personally I don’t agree on dascartes Cartesian dualism. In my opinion the argument that the mind and body are separate and that the minds is indivisible, meaning that you can’t break the minds is scientifically wrong. An example I would give is the lobotomy procedure a brain surgery that severes the nerve pathways between the frontal lobe and the thalamus which has caused significant changes in personality, apathy, and disinhibition
12
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Our response to eliminative materialism
From a scientific standpoint, eliminative materielism definitely has an upper ground, backed by evidence from several fields proving human thoughts are more than nothingness.
However, even with these knowings, modern psycology such as cognitive science still describes behavior using terms like "belief" and "desire". Since emotions are much tangible concepts, eliminative meterialism may ended up complementing them instead of replacing them.
13
Gettier Problem
Cartesian Skepticism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Dualism v.s Materialism
Our consensus
We all agree that both Descartes and Churchland have radical perspectives, but we leaned more on Churchlands argument specifically Identitiy theory, which is mental states are equal to brain states.
Sorry Churchland but I don't think you qualify as an emotion.
None of us should
I want to believe inside out is real
Thanks for listening
"Cogito, ergo sum"
- Descartes
"I still can't pronounce it right"
- me