“before arguing about truth mankind might first considereth whether anyone hath agreed what truth meaneth”
— william shakespeare
much ado about epistemologyeth
definitions unavailableeth due to ongoing disagreement
harketh horatio
as a neurodivergent
my biggest mistake was assuming everyone wants to know the truth
whose truth?
the truth
based on what?
evidence
which evidence?
reliable evidence
reliable according to whom?
experts
which experts?
the good ones
how knowest thou they are good?
because they use good evidence
horatio stareth
we appear to have enteredeth a circle
fucketh
and what assumptions are hiding underneath?
that reality existeth independently of us
that observation can reveal it
that language can describe it
that evidence can be weighed
that people mean roughly the same thing by true
that they are trying to reduce error rather than defendeth identity
that seems like rather a lot of assumptions
yeseth
and doth everyone share them?
absolutely fucking noteth
then perhaps the mistake was not assuming everyone wants truth
what was it?
assuming everyone is playingeth epistemology
some are playing politics
some belonging
some morality
some status
some survival
some religion
some vibes
some comment sectioneth
and occasionally
someone is actually asking what happened
horatio
how canst thou tell the difference?
excellent questioneth
and hath anyone solvedeth it?
nay
then what do we doeth?
ask one more question
which one?
what would change thy mindeth?
and if the answer is nothing?
horatio
then thou hast finally discoveredeth what conversation thou art actually having
ah
fucketh