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More Occam's Razor C to Java Translator Theory of Morality II


What is knowledge?

Abstract

This article investigates the subject of knowledge and highlights some of its paradoxes.

1.1 The least certain and the most certain

It is commonly agreed that our knowledge about the most important things in life is the least certain and that our knowledge about the least important things is the most certain. (e.g. religion, aesthetics and morality (the least certain), versus physics and mathematics (the most certain).)

1.2 Why everything is not relative

To people who say there is no truth and everything is relative (i.e. everything is just a matter of opinion), you should ask them: "Is that true that everything is relative?" I got this gem of wisdom from a Christian evangelist who goes by the name of L.T. and who recently gave a lecture at the University of Canterbury.

1.3 Morality and honesty

It is well known that a liar needs to have a good memory and therefore it is true that a person with a greater memory can be a bigger liar than a person with a smaller memory. Therefore shouldn't we trust the brightest people the least?!? Notwithstanding this observation, honesty is usually the best policy. Example: in a court of law where your testimony can be cross-examined to an arbitrary degree, honesty is the best policy. To a lesser degree, this is also true for your curriculum vitae although it is standard practise to stretch the truth by as the song goes: "accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative". If, however you put your C.V. on the Internet so that anyone can read it, then you are submitting yourself to the highest levels of accountability and honesty.

1.4 Morality and the power of gossip

People in the spotlight of the media, such as famous people and people in high status positions are the potential subject of gossip about any scandalous or "immoral" activities conducted by that person. Therefore these people should be aware that to be outside of the subject of any gossip, they should not do anything in the first place that would put themselves in the spotlight of gossipers. This is what Bill Clinton failed to do when he had his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

1.5 Naturalising goodness in aesthetics

The standard way to naturalise (i.e. remove the supernatural from) the subject of goodness (merit) in aesthetics is to reduce it to the the opinions of a select group of people. Consensus goodness is not without its problems however, for example, whose opinions should we count?

Whatever system we employ begs the question: why did we choose that particular group of people? Still this question is a smaller riddle than that of aesthetics being supernatural. Another way is to reduce the subject to the opinions of the greatest artists themselves (determined by consensus) who they themselves consider to be the most influential.

1.6 The problem with religious belief

When one decides what religion to follow, one is faced with the following problem:

At my present level of understanding, I see only the following three ways out of this dilemma:

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| Main Menu | Research Projects | Photo Album | Curriculum Vitae | The Greatest Artists |
| Email Address | Computer Games | Web Design | Java Training Wheels | The Fly (A Story) |
| Political Activism | Scruff the Cat | My Life Story | Smoking Cessation | Other Links |
| Debugging Macros | String Class I | Linked List System I | Java for C Programmers | Naming Convention |
| String Class II | How I use m4 | Strings III | Symmetrical I/O | Linked Lists II |
| Run-Time Type Info | Virtual Methods | An Array System | Science & Religion | Submodes |
| Nested Packages | Memory Leaks | Garbage Collection | Internet & Poverty | What is Knowledge? |
| Limits of Evolution | Emacs Additions | Function Plotter | Romantic Love | The Next Big Thing |
| Science Fiction | Faster Compilation | Theory of Morality | Elisp Scoping | Elisp Advice |
| S.O.G.M. Pattern | Safe Properties | School Bullying | Charisma Control | Life and Death |
| Splitting Java | Multiple Ctors | Religious Beliefs | Conversation 1 | Conversation 2 |
| J.T.W. Language | Emacs Additions II | Build Counter | Relation Plotter | Lisp++ Language |
| Memory Leaks II | Super Constructors | CRUD Implementation | Order a Website Form | There Is An Afterlife |
| More Occam's Razor | C to Java Translator | Theory of Morality II
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