Gregg R Thomas

The link works. I have a full NYT sub so can share 10 stories per month. I was on the phone with a friend in Zaporizhzhia a few nights ago. We had drones and gunfire for almost all of the call.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
The Gettier Problem: True Justified Belief without Knowledge.

Again, I think the problem with True Justified Belief is the statement, I am factually justified.  To know I am factually justified, I must know that my belief is true, yet I use this justification as proof that the belief is true.  I justify the truth o…[Read more]

From AI Welfare to AI Warfare. This is a great read.                                 .

Thanks, Reg!!

Have a great week everyone!

@regthefronkeyfarmer – but I never said the truth had to be justified – just “true”.  Anyway I like your definition of understanding better – understanding the factors that make something happen, and everything has a causative structure.

I understand that the concept of truth is not simple and is hard to define precisely.  If something is l…[Read more]

@Simon – Understanding is true belief. False beliefs are either redundant or harmful because delusion is always unsatisfactory.

That’s incorrect in modern epistemology. The old school of thought was that “Knowledge is justified true belief”. It is difficult to shake that idea because it is ‘folk epistemology’ and it has been around for centuries…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Religious justification is more powerful than anger or hatred and that is how ordinary people become instruments of atrocity.

I actually think that extremist religion and politics can justify “righteous” anger and hatred, blotting out all compassion or respect for human rights.  That’s because morality has an…[Read more]

Once moral judgment is externalized, violence becomes procedural. Killing is no longer an act of violence. It becomes a duty to the cause. The killer experiences righteousness, not guilt. I remember the phone call by the Hamas terrorist to his father and both were rejoicing in the murders. Religion claims absolute moral authority by an…[Read more]

Understanding – apprehending the truth – is an aspiration or goal.  We can’t guarantee to reach an adequate understanding of something.

Understanding is true belief.  False beliefs are either redundant or harmful because delusion is always unsatisfactory.

Understanding is voluntary.
Belief is optional.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Univ. of Oklahoma punishes instructor for failing Christian student who didn’t do the assignment.

She wrote a right-wing rant instead.  I think that the student, Samantha Fulnecky, will never be able to get a normal job now.  But there’s plenty of work spouting off on YouTube, playing the victim and pretending to be…[Read more]

Thanks, Reg!  Happy New Year to you and  I hope all your Machiavellian plans for 2026 achieve outstanding success!

Have a great week everyone and Happy New Year!!

Last week I checked my crypto wallet on my cellphone. It said I had a balance of $28,151,000. I closed the app, re-opened it and I had the same balance. I immediately tried to transfer funds, thinking there must have been a “bitcoin moment”. When I got to the transfer window, the last 3 zeros were gone and I was actually down about $200. I could…[Read more]