KEY CONCEPTS IN EPISTEMOLOGY
Contents:
The state of sustained perception of that which exists. Perception is the process by which an entity senses and retains interactions between the external environment and itself to use or be able to use toward goal-directed behaviour.
To use or to be able to use the retained interactions for goal-directed behaviour is key; without this aspect, perception is indistinguishable from mere marks or imprints. “Meaning” is only found with respect to a goal or purpose, and hence, perception without the capacity for goal-directed behaviour is meaningless and becomes the same phenomenon (in essence) as mere marking or imprinting.
NOTE: Perception is ultimately defined ostensibly, i.e. through direct experience, since it is the basis of direct experience and thus irreducible in terms of other experiences. The above definition serves to indicate where to look to identify perception. Note also that since perception is ultimately defined ostensibly, the fact that perception is tied to goal-driven behaviour is not necessary to put in explicit terms to grasp the concept to begin with.
The faculty of active awareness, i.e. the faculty of perceiving that which exists and acting (mentally or physically) with respect to perception. Consciousness implies consciousness of something. A content-less state of consciousness is a self-contradictory idea.
If a thing X is irreducible in terms of another thing Y, then X does not contain or cannot be broken down to Y. X and Y here can be similar or the same thing, e.g. the same concept, category, etc. For example, if an idea is irreducible in terms of ideas, it means the idea cannot be broken into further ideas, i.e. it is a basis of ideas. In general, when I say X is irreducible, I only mean irreducible in terms of the genus that X falls under.
Any part of active consciousness, such as a sensation, perception, concept, thought, emotion, etc.
A conscious unit that pertains to cognition, i.e. to knowledge and knowledge-formation.
Abstraction is a process that involves a selective mental focus that mentally separates and isolates a certain aspect of reality from the rest of reality. For example, identifying an entity involves abstracting it from its surroundings. Similarly, identifying a certain type of entity involves abstracting the shared characteristics of a set of entities while omitting the differences between them, implying that the differences do exist but may exist in any form. If X is abstract, then it is a result of abstraction. Note that abstract does not mean “not real”; if done with respect to our grasp of reality, an abstraction is an identified part of reality.
Concreteness is the measure of how close a conscious unit (e.g. a concept, thought, assumption, belief, etc.) is to perceptual reality, i.e. to the level of direct observation. If something is concrete, then it is directly observable. If X is more concrete than Y, then the levels of abstraction in X are lesser than they are in Y. Hence, note that something being concrete on one level does not imply that it is not abstract on another level. Note that here, the terms “more concrete” and “more abstract” are both relative measures of the level of abstraction.
This is the process of combining various distinct inputs into one conscious unit. The combination is done by (1) retaining a subset of the inputs while omitting the rest, and (2) identifying the selected subset of inputs with one conscious unit. The most basic — and essential — kind of integration is our perception of something, which integrates various distinct sensory inputs into one observation. On a more complex level, we can integrate various distinct perceptions into one concept, or various distinct concepts into another single concept (such as the integration of the concepts of “chair”, “table”, “sofa” etc. under the broader concept of “furniture”), and so on. Note that to integrate, you must be able to first perceive distinct units, i.e. to integrate, you must be able to differentiate.
This is the process of separating various inputs into multiple distinct conscious units. The separation is done by (1) retaining all the inputs as subsets of integrated, distinct things, and (2) identifying the various subsets of inputs as different units. The most basic — and essential — kind of differentiation is our grasp of individual sensations as opposed to a sensory chaos. On a more complex level, we can differentiate different perceptions or concepts from each other, or even differentiate the subcategories of a single concept. Note that to differentiate beyond sensations, we must be able to perceive unified, well-defined units, i.e. to differentiate beyond sensations, we must be able to integrate.
Integration and differentiation are not two isolated processes, but work with respect to each other. Any integration necessarily requires differentiation, since to integrate a set of things as one is to also differentiate the whole from other things. Differentiation begins at the sensory level wherein sensations are differentiated from each other; since sensations are irreducible in terms of conscious units, we see that differentiation precedes integration at the most basic level.
NOTE: Entities, change and actions must ultimately be defined through ostensible definitions since they are concepts from direct perceptions that are irreducible to other perceptions; at the basic levels, an entity is grasped as a whole, an action or a change is a single perception, etc.. But I shall indicate some defining aspects that can show where to look.
Entity (as defined in metaphysics):
An entity is a subset of existence whose identity is independent of one’s consciousness; it is a concrete, or a concrete referent of an abstraction. It can be composed of one or more entities—components—each with its own identity, or it can be irreducible, but it exists and is what it is independent of consciousness. Note that an entity can be a specific arrangement (i.e. interconnections) of other entities (all entities are either irreducible entities or arrangements of irreducible entities) to which different non-identifying facts may apply at different times (e.g. position, movement, change in shape — given that the arrangement is not tied to the shape).
NOTE: Given the above concept of entity, facts are thus facts of entities (i.e. facts metaphysically inseparable from and derived from entities) ultimately (i.e. maybe indirectly, but certainly).
Action (as defined in metaphysics):
An action is a change of an entity, i.e. a difference in the past and the present of an entity. An action, thus, is necessarily of the entity, i.e. an action cannot exist apart from the entity, and thus, an action cannot exist apart from the entity’s identity; an action is hence an aspect of the entity’s identity. This means an action can exist neither apart from (i.e. disconnected from) nor — of course — in contradiction to the entity and its identity.
NOTE: To mention both “entity” and “entity’s identity” in this context is redundant, but it is done for the sake of clarity.
Reaction:
An action of an entity that is a result, i.e. effect of an action of another entity.
Interaction:
A set of causally related actions and reactions between two or more entities.