Ethical foundations of the left

[Kenneth MacKendrick]

At 09:40 PM 7/25/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Sounds as if you are geographically challenged if you think Ulan Bator is
>the capital of Mongolia is hypothetical knowledge. By the way what is
>hypothetical knowledge? Is it knowledge of hypotheses or knowledge of
>propositions of the form "if x then y" ie. hypotheticals?

 From a theoretical perspective, hypothetical knowledge is knowledge that 
is assumed in a prescientific situation (like my total ignorance of 
geography yet my determination to supply directions). In other words, 
knowledge only counts as knowledge if it has been discursively determined.

How far is it from Toronto to Winsdor?
About 385km.
That's prescientific knowledge, it is hypothetical in the sense that I 
haven't actually done the math and geography.
It takes about 2 hours by car.
That's prescientific knowledge too.

Until we hire the tapemeasure brigade to sort out the distance... we're 
stuck with a guess.

I believe the distance is about 385km.
The government knows that the distance is 383km.
I intuitively think that it takes about 2 hours by car.
The police know that it takes just under four hours.

And I'm still working on that Searle and Austin post.

ken