The validity of knowledge

• Ideal knowledge is absolutely certain.

• Major question: What can we know for sure?

• A minority of knowledge can be conclusive (the earth is round).

• The great majority of (general) knowledge is conjectural, tentative, hypothetical (Popper).

—Can be disproven but not proven.

—Results of testing are retaining or rejecting.

• Specific pieces of evidence can often be settled better than general ones can.

• Therefore, we must start studying the JFK assassination by asking what we can know for sure about it.

• Only then can we ask what is highly probable (but not certain) about it.

 

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