Sunday, December 20, 2015

Interacting with "Incinerating Presuppositionalism"

I have decided to share the gospel with the unbeliever over at Incinerating Presuppositionalism. Here is a recent exchange on the nature of knowledge and my argument that knowledge cannot come into existence. In other words, there cannot be a state of affairs where there was no knowledge followed by a state of affairs in which knowledge has obtained.

Dawson,
My argument for knowledge is pretty straightforward and it does not commit the fallacy of an infinite regress. Knowledge is required for knowledge. Without knowledge, knowledge cannot get started. I would think it a fascinating argument for one to make the contrary argument just to see what it might look like.

Now, to be more specific:
A posterior knowledge--> a priori knowledge
A posterior knowledge
/ a priori knowledge

Or
A posteriori knowledge --> a priori knowledge
~ a priori knowledge
/ ~ a posteriori knowledge

Christian theism tells us that all the treasures of sophia and gnosis (wisdom and knowledge) are apokruphos (hidden) in Christ. God is the beginning of knowledge of human beings. Knowledge, by its very nature requires knowledge. Now, before you demand that God must then have acquired knowledge someplace else, let's be clear: God, by His very nature possess infinitely perfect knowledge of all things past, present, future and otherwise. A human being, having a beginning, must have necessarily had a beginning of knowledge. But such a beginning is impossible for knowledge by its very nature. Knowledge cannot appear from nothing or simply begin. Such a position fails to understand what knowledge is in itself. 

Either knowledge from no knowledge is possible or knowledge from no knowledge is not possible.
Knowledge from no knowledge is not possible. 

The conclusion that knowledge from nothing is not possible is self-evident because if it were possible, we could know it which would make it impossible. Therefore, since knowledge from no knowledge is not possible, prior knowledge is necessarily true.

~(knowledge & ~knowledge) or if you prefer, ~knowledge or ~~knowledge. 

The Christian theory of knowledge is that all knowledge is revealed knowledge, transferred knowledge from God to man. But that transfer of knowledge was finite on the one hand and know suffers from the noetic effects of sin. It is upon that knowledge that man builds and progresses in and toward greater knowledge.

By the way, there is no way I can keep up with multiple posts from multiple people. I was thinking that perhaps a man who put up on blog called Incinerating Presuppositionalism might have some new and interesting things to say about the approach. But what I am finding is more of the same old tired failed arguments and of course nasty, insulting comments like the one Photo put up above. What an ugly character he must be.

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