surreptitious57 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:09 am
Speakpigeon wrote:
But may be you have not seen any black swans
In which case the default position is that all swans are white
Till some one sees a black one and the claim is then falsified
OK, so suppose no one has ever reported any black swan, only white ones.
Suppose nobody has ever seen them, but there are actually a few black swans.
Suppose also that John is a respected zoologist.
Now, according to your conception of knowledge, it is true that
John knows all swans are white.
Suppose now that John learns that some black swans have been observed. He goes there with other zoologists and see the black swans for himself.
So, according to your theory, now it is true that
John never knew there were only white swans since there were some black swans.
So, your theory is that at some point it was true that
John knew that there were only white swans and also that it is true now that
John never knew there were only white swans.
EB