Blueprint >> Epistemology

Disclaimer: This document is in raw form as I process and distill 4 years-worth of my personal development notes. Expect some typos and cryptic language for now. I will be updating frequently and polishing up.

Prescription: Correct your epistemology.
Related Concepts: Meaning of Life, Embrace Paradox

What is Epistemology?

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Why is it Important?

A proper theory of knowledge and healthy relationship with truth is essential to your education and proper functioning in life. If you traffic in myth and don't understand basic scientific method, you will commit costly errors.

Epistemology Videos

[coming soon...]

Epistemology: Key Points

Cultivate a love and respect for knowing what's true. You must know what is real so you can fix problems. It's also spiritually satisfying.

The map is not the territory: There is no direct access to the territory. All maps are approximations. I am experiencing a thin sliver of reality through a very specialized and limited biology. I cannot expect my model to be very accurate. I should not believe that my model is reality.

Quine's model of knowledge

Science, or any form of truth-seeking, is not about verification, it's about falsification. You cannot ever prove a theory true, you can only prove it false. We have a nasty tendency to only look for confirming evidence while discounting disconfirming evidence. But this is not proof. The closest thing we have to proof is: you search long and hard and consistently fail to find any disconfirming evidence, so the theory looks very credible, but even then it is not proven.

Be familiar with cognitive biases

Deeply accept that idea that you could be wrong about anything. There is no scared ground or loophole to this. "But surely I can't be wrong about X?!" Yes, you can! "But surely if I use proper logic I can't be wrong about Y?!" Yes, you can! "But surely I can't be wrong about mathematical truths and basic things like the law of non-contradiction?!" Yes, you can! "But surely I can't be wrong that if I think, I must exist?!" Yes, you can! All of it is grounded in your psychology! If your psychology were different, you would think differently.

References