All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest... The Boxer, Simon & Garfunkel.
Epistemology is the investigation of knowledge, of how we know what we know. I have already said that I know nothing... or almost nothing; but that does not let me off the hook, does it? I believe that in the absence of knowing, I do what everyone else does, I accept as truth whatever I want, for whatever reason.
Some of my peers have an epistemology that weighs faith heavily, and they "know" their scriptures are true. They tend to rely on the Holy Ghost to tell them what is true or false. Others weigh empirical evidence heavily and call themselves skeptics. They want evidence. I tend to be a skeptic.
I accept as "real" what ever I experience that conforms to past experiences. If I see, hear, touch, smell, or taste something that I can relate to form past experiences, I will trust my senses and accept the experience as being real. And if I think I see something, I must have the additional experience of seeing it again, and hopefully for a long time so that I can make the mental connections to my previous experiences.
If someone comes to me with a claim of some sort, to "know" or to have a justifiable belief in that "fact," I follow the following informal rules.
- I listen... carefully.
- I ask the following questions:
- How do you know? (which a very impolite question)
- What evidence do you have? (Can I see it? Are there 2+ reliable witnesses?)
- Does this make sense? Does it fit with my own experiences?
- Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me? (If they want me to buy something... that is a red flag.)
- Then I judge the claims according to my values.
In the end, to be honest, I believe what I want to believe.
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