The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 04 (of 11)Hobbes, Thomas
Philosophy
The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 04 (of 11)
Hobbes, Thomas
Philosophy, English -- 17th century
CHAPTER VI.
1. Of the two kinds of knowledge. 2. Truth and evidence necessary to
knowledge. 3. Evidence defined. 4. Science defined. 5.
Supposition defined. 6. Opinion defined. 7. Belief defined. 8.
Conscience defined. 9. Belief, in some cases, no less from doubt
than knowledge.
[Sidenote: Of the two kinds of knowledge.]
1. There is a story somewhere, of one that pretends to have been
miraculously cured of blindness, wherewith he was born, by St. Alban
or other Saints, at the town of St. Alban’s; and that the Duke of
Gloucester being there, to be satisfied of the truth of the miracle,
asked the man, What colour is this? who, by answering, it was green,
discovered himself, and was punished for a counterfeit: for though
by his sight newly received he might distinguish between green, and
red, and all other colours, as well as any that should interrogate
him, yet he could not possibly know at first sight which of them was
called green, or red, or by any other name. By this we may
understand, there be _two kinds_ of knowledge, whereof the _one_ is
nothing else but _sense_, or knowledge _original_, as I have said in
the beginning of the second chapter, and _remembrance_ of the same;
the _other_ is called _science_ or knowledge of the _truth of
propositions_, and how things are called, and is derived from
_understanding_. Both of these sorts are but _experience_; the
former being the experience of the effects of things that work upon
us from _without_; and the latter experience men have from the
proper use of _names_ in language: and all experience being, as I
have said, but remembrance, all knowledge is remembrance: and of the
_former_, the register we keep in books, is called _history_; but
the registers of the _latter_ are called the _sciences_.
[Sidenote: Truth and evidence necessary to knowledge.]
2. There are _two things_ necessarily implied in this word
_knowledge_; the one is _truth_, the other _evidence_; for what is
not truth, can never be known. For, let a man say he knoweth a thing
never so well, if the same shall afterwards appear false, he is
driven to confession, that it was not knowledge, but opinion.
Likewise, if the truth be not evident, though a man holdeth it, yet
is his knowledge thereof no more than theirs who hold the contrary:
for if truth were enough to make it knowledge, all truth were known;
which is not so.
[Sidenote: Evidence defined.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account