Eating the Embryo
“All men by nature desire to know.” The curiosity of a child comes immediately to mind thus proving Aristotle’s statement. I would be quick to add, “Most men do not desire to know how they know.” We just “know”. We know a variety of things, both to our benefit and to our detriment. Some things we think we know but are merely a matter of opinion or preference. Other things we may think, are a matter of opinion, but may really be a matter of knowledge. How do we tell the difference? Is it even possible to tell the difference? If it is not possible to tell the difference then the only things that we truly can know are those things that experience tells us. And all other things that are not a matter of experience become opinion.
The study of how we know what we know is called epistemology. The study of epistemology asks questions like where do I get my knowledge, and how is it derived? Those who have bothered to ask the question, how do we obtain knowledge, have observed that knowledge is obtained through experience, reason, and revelation. Not all have agreed on the three modes of reception; while in our culture it is fashionable to reject anything can be known at all. Knowledge itself is difficult to define, books have been written through the ages on the subject. But for our purpose we shall define it as that which coheres with reality and corresponds with reality. The denial of knowledge therefore results in contradiction in some way. We may not know this contradiction but if we hold a belief that is against reality then that belief cannot be considered knowledge, although we may hold it to be so. For instance if I believe there is a parrot on a perch next to me, can that belief be considered knowledge? Only if in fact there is a parrot on a perch next to me. This belief corresponds with reality and does not contradict other circumstances; it has coherence. But what do you do with the belief, “Humans have value”, that intrinsic value which cannot be separated from the individual? That type of value that the framers of the American Constitution labeled “inalienable”? Is this knowledge or is it just a belief? Is this a moral claim or a preference claim? If all knowledge is gained from experience than this supposed moral claim is in fact a preference claim and nothing more.
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