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Monday, July 26, 2004 - 7:17pmSanction this postReply
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Hello everyone,

What is the conceptual status of questions under Objectivist Epistemology?  That is to say, under what genus of mental operation do they fall, and how does one conceive of a question from an epistemological standpoint?  I don't think that a question is knowledge, since knowledge gives us a fact about the world, and a question seems only to posit the lack of a fact.  Maybe it's a concept, but I'm not sure how a question would result from differentiation and integration.


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Monday, July 26, 2004 - 9:36pmSanction this postReply
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i;ve always interpreted questions as "empty concept placeholders concepts" combined with, when expressed linguistically, a semi-imperative requesting a referent concept for the as of now empty placeholder concept to refer to.


ie: to say, what is a dog is to say: a dog is ________. fill in blank, please


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Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 6:36amSanction this postReply
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Hi Nate,

Good question.

(Couldn't resist.)

Just a comment now. It is actually a very important question which Rand did not ignore.

The comment is this. A question is a kind of knowledge, or at least implies knowledge. A question indicates something one knows about or suspects based on what they do know, which makes them aware there is something or something else they need or want to know or know about. Without knowledge there could be no questions. A question is the identification of an intellectual objective, knowledge about something one does not yet have but seeks to have.

I intend to say a little more about this, but others may have filled in the gaps by the time I get around to it.

Regi


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