Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 3:22 am
seeds wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 11:39 pm
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 5:29 am
You think you can claim "Gotcha!"
Not so fast. Problem is your thinking is too shallow:
Once again, the
"glaze" on the pottery accuses the
"clay" of being too shallow.
It show your understanding of the issue is too shallow.
Again, so says the superficial "glaze" to the underlying "clay."
I'm afraid your Dunning-Kruger state of mind can't quite fathom the true status of our roles relative to each other.
seeds wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 11:39 pm
For funsies, I ran that past Bing's oracle
Copilot, and this is what she said...
Me:
So then, if the Kantian noumenal aspect of reality (the unknowable "thing-in-itself")...is in fact a deeper, underlying aspect of reality that, without which, the Kantian phenomenal aspect of reality (as in that which is knowable and perceivable) would not appear to us, then, getting back to my original claim, doesn't that suggest that the Kantian noumenon/phenomenon are two sides of the same proverbial coin, with the coin being reality itself?
Copilot:
Yes, your interpretation is quite insightful. By framing the noumenon and phenomenon as two sides of the same proverbial coin, with reality itself being the coin, you capture the essence of Kant’s philosophy in a compelling way.
Kant posits that the noumenon (the thing-in-itself) is the underlying reality that gives rise to the phenomenon (the thing as it appears to us). Without the noumenon, there would be no phenomenon for us to perceive. This interdependence suggests that they are indeed two aspects of the same reality, even if we can only directly access one of them.
So, in this sense, your analogy holds: the noumenon and phenomenon are two sides of the same coin, representing the deeper, unified reality that encompasses both the knowable and the unknowable aspects.
Now, of course. it goes without saying that your enormous ego is going to kick-in and force you to proclaim that your own personal interpretation of what Kant
"really meant" supersedes anything these puny AIs have to offer.
However, that does not negate the fact that Kant himself said...
"...though we cannot know these objects as things in themselves, we must yet be in a position at least to think them as things in themselves; otherwise we should be landed in the absurd conclusion that there can be appearance without anything that appears..."
I also ran that by Copilot...
Me:
What did Kant mean by this:
"...though we cannot know these objects as things in themselves, we must yet be in a position at least to think them as things in themselves; otherwise we should be landed in the absurd conclusion that there can be appearance without anything that appears..."?
Copilot:
Kant’s statement touches on his distinction between “things in themselves” (noumena) and “appearances” (phenomena). Here’s a breakdown:
Things in Themselves (Noumena): These are objects as they exist independently of our perception. According to Kant, we cannot have direct knowledge of these objects because our understanding is limited to how things appear to us.
Appearances (Phenomena): These are the objects as we perceive them, shaped by our senses and cognitive faculties.
Kant argues that while we cannot know the true nature of things in themselves, we must still be able to think of them as existing. If we didn’t, it would imply that appearances (what we perceive) exist without anything real behind them, which he considers absurd.
Essentially, for there to be an appearance, there must be something that appears.
So, there you go, little V., Uncle Kant would consider your denial of the possible existence of noumena to be
"absurd."
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 3:22 am
Unfortunately Co-pilot reach is very limited....I suggest you use ChatGpt on the same question and ask it to provide a deeper and also alternative and more-nuanced opposing interpretations and views.
Okay, I presented the same questions to ChatGPT, and here is what she said...
Me:
What did Kant mean by this:
"...though we cannot know these objects as things in themselves, we must yet be in a position at least to think them as things in themselves; otherwise we should be landed in the absurd conclusion that there can be appearance without anything that appears..."?
ChatGPT:
In this quote, Kant is addressing a key aspect of his philosophy regarding the distinction between phenomena (things as they appear to us) and noumena (things as they are in themselves). Kant argues that while we can never have direct knowledge of noumena, we must be able to think of them conceptually.
This is important because if we only recognize appearances without acknowledging that there must be something underlying those appearances, it leads to an absurd conclusion: that things can exist without any basis in reality. Essentially, Kant is saying that even if we cannot know the true nature of objects, we still must assume their existence to make sense of our experiences. Thus, while our knowledge is limited to phenomena, the concept of things in themselves helps us understand the framework of our experiences without falling into contradiction.
Me:
Can you elaborate on the "absurd conclusion" part?
ChatGPT:
Certainly! When Kant refers to the "absurd conclusion," he’s highlighting a fundamental issue in understanding reality. If we accept that we only know appearances (phenomena) and completely reject the existence of anything that underlies those appearances (noumena), we arrive at a problematic situation.
The absurdity lies in the idea that we could have perceptions or experiences—like seeing a tree, for instance—without any actual tree existing. If there were no underlying reality to support those experiences, then our perceptions would seem meaningless. Essentially, if there were no "things that appear" (noumena), then our sensory experiences wouldn’t be grounded in anything real, leading to a contradiction.
Kant is emphasizing that to have coherent experiences, we must assume there is something real behind them, even if we can’t know it directly. This assumption allows us to maintain that our perceptions are not just random or entirely subjective but are related to an external reality that we can think of, even if we can’t grasp it fully.
Me:
If the Kantian noumenal aspect of reality (the unknowable "thing-in-itself") is in fact a deeper, underlying aspect of reality that, without which, the Kantian phenomenal aspect of reality (as in that which is knowable and perceivable) would not appear to us, then doesn't that suggest that the Kantian noumenon/phenomenon are two sides of the same proverbial coin, with the coin being reality itself?
ChatGPT:
Yes, that's a thoughtful way to interpret Kant's distinction between noumena and phenomena. In Kant's framework, the noumenal aspect of reality—what he refers to as the "thing-in-itself"—can be seen as the underlying reality that makes our experiences possible. The phenomenal aspect is how we perceive and understand that reality through our senses and cognitive faculties.
Thinking of them as two sides of the same coin suggests that they are intrinsically connected. The noumenon provides the foundation for our experiences, while phenomena are the manifestations of that foundation as interpreted through our human faculties.
However, Kant is careful to maintain a strict distinction: while we can think of the noumenal as necessary for explaining phenomena, we cannot have knowledge of it in the same way we know phenomena. This distinction emphasizes that our understanding is always mediated by our perceptions and categories of thought, limiting us to the phenomenal realm.
In this sense, your analogy captures the relationship well: while they are distinct in terms of our knowledge and experience, they are indeed interdependent aspects of reality itself. The noumenal aspect is crucial for grounding the phenomenal, but our access to it remains fundamentally limited.
Clearly, there is not that much difference between ChatGPT and Copilot.
Furthermore, you would think that after all the effort you've put into correcting these chatbots with your bogus (contaminated) "quotes" from the CPR, they would have learned what Kant
"really meant" (according to you) and thus be giving the revised answers that are more in line with your interpretation of Kant.
I wonder what's wrong with them?
Anyway, if you think you can trick ChatGPT into saying what
you want to hear in regard to those same questions, then, by all means, have at it, and then present your findings in this thread. But please be honest enough to display the precise questions you posed to it.
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