Philosophia Polymathematica

Though “I don’t know” and “I’m not sure” are sometimes the only wise answers one can provide, there is a substantive difference between the two that people going through the motions of life do not meaningfully understand, much less appreciate. The importance of being able to mark one’s position in uncertainty versus one’s position in ignorance is such that it allows for the realization of when one answer is categorically correct, or at least more appropriate, over another. While the decision regarding whether one is unsure versus ignorant is not rigorously mathematical and is ultimately a personal judgment, I believe that it has a core objective basis. The delineation of ignorance from uncertainty is essentially an epistemological inquiry because the judgment is primarily contingent upon one’s limits of knowledge. Obviously enough, ignorance is the consequence of one having little to no knowledge regarding a given matter whereas uncertainty is a consequence of one having insufficient k...

Philosophers throughout the ages including many of the most preeminent ones such as Rene Descartes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Locke were keenly interested in the epistemological inquiry of how best to gain knowledge. It’s very much in this vein that I have, despite having meritorious thoughts on the matter, often struggled with the question of the meaning of being self-taught. To better round out my understanding, I recently had the opportunity to propose this question to my philosophy club at our most recent meeting. As always, we enjoyed a spirited discussion which involved different and differing viewpoints. What ensued not only helped me better clarify my thinking on this question but also helped me reach a personally satisfying conclusion. The basis of my dilemma on this question is that, at least in general parlance, individuals who independently obtain knowledge in a given area outside of a formal setting are referred to as being self-taught. Such individuals may obtai...