-1- wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2017 5:12 pm
Conde Lucanor:
I must have misinterpreted the meaning of "doubt" as you meant it.
Hence you are misinterpreting my statements.
This I can't fault you for. Maybe I ought to have asked you first what you mean by "doubt".
There are a number of misunderstandings still. Let me explain:
"John Doe does not doubt that Mary Jane exists, but he is not certain of it either."
I don't know; does this sentence make any sense? If not, then please erase all your thoughts that arose from my asserting that John Doe does not doubt that Mary Jane exists. I admit I have troubles understanding the meaning of the word "doubt". It is my shortcoming, and I fully admit to that.
So to make it sure:
John Doe is not certain that Mary Jany or her mind exists. But it is not considered impossible by him for Mary Jane or her mind to exist. (***Does this amount to doubt? I don't know.***)
Now, instead of carrying on with correcting the corrections, please ask your question again. The original question, and be not swayed by my incorrect explanation of "not doubting, but not certain either."
I want to start with a clean slate, as to not to confuse you, and for me not to get confused.
If you wouldn't mind asking your questions, better if you ask your original questions, and we'll go from there.
Please don't use the word "doubt". Please describe your thoughts without using the word "doubt". "Doubt" is a dubious word, I don't like it because it can have overlays of truth values when used in logic. It is a word of fuzzy logic. And here is why:
"I doubt that the teacher will come in today." This means it is possible that the teacher will come in today, but I am not sure. I make no claim whether the teacher will come in or the teacher won't come in. My idea is that there is a possibility that the teacher will come in, and that he or she won't come in.
"I doubt your intelligence." (As an example, not directed at anyone in this thread.) This means I deny you are intelligent. It is not a lack of certainty; it is a certainty expressed in a more-or-less polite way.
"I doubt that the judges will come down with a favourable decision for the defendant." Again, this is a nuanced way of saying that the speaker is sure that the judgement will be unfavourable to the defendant.
This is why I did not want to deal with the wording that said "doubt" in it. It has no clear, precise meaning, and for me to make a claim, I shan't be addressing questions that can be interpreted in more than one way.
Conde Lucanor, please don't refer to any of the posts we have made to each other. I did not want to deal with the word "doubt", but you thought that I was dealing with it. This is why you came up with a for me unacceptable conclusion, in which you said, "So, what you're saying is that the solipsist John Doe is certain about two things: that Mary Jane (and her mind) exist and that he exists." I did not say this, neither implied this; you concluded this due to the manifold meaning of the word "doubt".
So if you are still interested, read my much earlier post (I can't refer you to it now, I am in the middle of editing this post, I will refer you to it in the next post I make -- they unfortunately don't number posts on threads on this site).