Epistemology.
10 random takeaways.
1.
TST Term.
An empirical idea is a direct description of the material world. They reach toward the material world and describe things we can observe, measure, test, or verify. Germs cause disease. Earth orbits the Sun. Gravity pulls. Empirical ideas are powerful because reality can push back. If the idea fails the test, we refine it or let it go.
2.
Quote:
- Carl Sagan.
- 1979.
From History:
To live well through secular spirituality, explore the intangible while staying accountable to reality. Let your experiences deepen purpose, strengthen character, and build connections—but calibrate your beliefs: embrace what aligns with observation, question what does not, and hold the unknown with humility.
3.
From History: The abstractions of life.
Schemas shape what feels normal, right, threatening, or familiar. Compare the same schema across family, religion, work, politics, and culture. The subtle differences can bring wisdom. Some inherited templates resonate with your authentic self; others were simply handed to you. To think well, keep what fits and revise what does not.
4.
In the 1700s, David Hume challenged the assumption that cause and effect are logically guaranteed, exposing the limits of induction and separating correlation from causation. His skepticism sharpened scientific thinking. In 30 Philosophers, this is contrasted with karma (via the Gautama Buddha) and extended through cause-and-effect toward holistic eudaimonia beyond Aristotle.
5.
Quote:
- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
- 1922.
Linguistic skepticism is the idea that language cannot fully represent what we experience. In contrast, epistemological skepticism is the broader notion that humans can never fully understand reality, whether due to cognitive limitations, the existence of other realms, or other fundamental constraints.
6.
From History: 1946
Published posthumously.
Collingwood supports the idea that history is rational reconstruction. The past happened in the material world, but historical understanding requires interpretation. Evidence anchors the story, reason organizes it, and confidence rises or falls depending on how well the reconstruction answers to reality.
7.
The so-called speed of light is better understood as the universal speed limit or speed of causality. Light and gravity obey it, though light can be delayed by matter. Meanwhile, space itself can expand faster than this limit. That nuance matters when thinking about cosmology—and future unified theories.
8.
Quote:
- E. H. Carr.
- 1961.
From History:
Carr supports the heart of empirical narrative realism: evidence anchors history, but reason shapes the retelling. The facts keep the historian grounded in reality; the historian gives those facts sequence, context, and meaning. Always ask how much confidence each reconstruction deserves.
9.
From History: Lived from 1861 to 1925, aged 64.
Anthroposophy and Spiritual Science
To understand biodynamic agriculture, separate the useful ecological instinct from the spiritual claims. Steiner was right to see farms as living systems that need balance, soil health, and care. But the spiritual forces behind biodynamics remain speculative. Appreciate the holistic farming impulse, while letting evidence judge the methods.
10.
A schema is a mental template built from experience that helps you organize, interpret, and respond to patterns in the world. In TST, schemas are used traditionally, but they help explain how the mind moves across frameworks. Schemas are the mind’s working templates. You evolve schemas by adding and removing elements from the set.
The End. Refresh for another set.