| | An ARL(Rand Lexicon)-based Rebuttal to Warren's Interlocuter
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1.) Empirical evidence is the sole source of knowledge.
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Actually, empirical evidence is the sole start of knowledge. The syllogism is a secondary "source" of knowledge.
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2.) Empirical basis is the sole determinant in judging the correctness of statements.
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Actually, logic is needed here, too (read on):
"His means to establish the truth of his answers is logic, and logic rests on the axiom that existence exists."
"The distinguishing characteristic of logic (the art of non-contradictory identification) indicates the nature of the actions (actions of consciousness required to achieve a correct identification) and their goal (knowledge) ... "
"Logic is man's method of reaching conclusions objectively by deriving them without contradiction from facts of reality ... "
"All truths are the product of a logical identification of the facts of experience."
"In reality, contradictions cannot exist; in a cognitive process, a contradiction is the proof of an error."
"Only when a conclusion is based on a non-contradictory identification and integration of all the evidence available at a given time, can it qualify as knowledge."
"It is the use of logic that enables man to determine what is and what is not a fact."
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3.)Logic "as a pretender to truth" is exclusively concerned with structure of statements and not their references to reality, nor any references to reality.
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Yes ... more of the same (read on):
"The failure to recognize that logic is man's method of cognition, has produced a brood of artificial splits and dichotomies ... The logical-factual dichotomy ... Implicit in this dichotomy is the view that logic is a subjective game, a method of manipulating arbitrary symbols, not a method of acquiring knowledge."
"To introduce an opposition between the "logical" and the "factual" is to create a split between consciousness and existence, between truths in accordance with man's method of cognition and truths in accordance with the facts of reality. ... This amounts to the claim that man has no method of cognition, i.e., no way of acquiring knowledge."
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4.) Contradictions exist Objectively.
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Not extra-mental (independent, objective existence) ones.
"In reality, contradictions cannot exist; in a cognitive process, a contradiction is the proof of an error."
The only contradictions possible are those that are man-made -- and they all involve either an error of knowledge, or a willful evasion of the facts of reality. Just jotting down a sentence like: "This sentence is false." or, perhaps a more playful one, like: "You're not now reading this." -- doesn't not mean that contradictions exist in extra-mental reality. Mere willing something, does not make it so.
Warren, feel free to copy this reasoning into a Word file, print it out, and slap it down on your interlocuter's desk.
Hmph!
Ed
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