Chit Chat Philosophy

2 Can I trust my senses?

1 What we sense informs our view of the world. Sight. Taste. Smell. These inputs are all we have and everything must be reconciled with them.

2 Can our senses lie to us?

1 The raw signals cannot lie to us, but our interpretation can be wrong.

2 What is an example?

1 Suppose you have touched something. It’s slimy and has a defined shape. You could reason what it might be, but that does not guarantee you are right. By using our senses, they add depth to our thoughts but they are not always correct.

2 How can we trust our senses then?

1 We do this all the time. Specifically, we make educated guesses with the information available. It’s not always right, but it gets us closer to the truth.

2 What is the opposite of trusting your senses?

1 I would say the opposite of trusting your senses would be trusting your intuition.

2 What does it mean to trust your intuition?

1 I think intuition is a kind of pattern recognition. It’s a feeling we get, based on past experiences, which has a known outcome given a similar situation. It’s more about relying on the statistics of a thing, instead of the information at hand.

2 As we gain more intuition, can we improve our confidence that a particular sensory event is more trustworthy?

1 I believe gaining intuition does indeed help.

2 Will we ever be absolutely certain of anything, even with a great amount of wisdom?

1 I would argue that some kinds of sensory experiences are actually certain. Not all of them, mind you, but certainly the fact that I am touching something has to be certain. What it is I am touching – that is up for debate.

2 What makes a sensory event certain vs. not?

1 I can tell you for sure if I am touching something or not. If I smell something weird or not. If I see something or not. Uncertainty can be introduced when we try to make conclusions about this information.

2 They say certain medical conditions can cause sensory information to misfire. For example: smelling something that isn’t there. Or phantom limb. Can you still be certain about sensory information knowing it’s not always reliable?

1 The cases you mention are rare, and can be smoothed over with some logical inference. I do not think that should factor into whether we can trust our senses or not. For the vast majority of the time, our raw sensory input is trustworthy.

2 Okay, what is your conclusion then?

1 Sensory input can produce facts. Interpreting this data might not always be trustworthy, but you should trust your senses. They will add color to your thoughts and ultimately help you inch closer to the truth. 

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_{Featured image by Jason Wirchin}