LKP – In the Beginning, There was Nothing

Given nothing, where to begin? If you are familiar with Descartes, you may be thinking along the lines of “Cogito, ergo sum” – ‘I think therefore I am’ – but that uses an assumption we have yet to make: that there is a difference between one thing and another. This is important, as if there is no such difference, then while it would be correct to establish existence, there would be no meaning to it. That is, there would be no contrast between existence and non-existence.

As such, I would first propose:

• Axiom¹ 1: A thing cannot also be it’s negation.

This proposal, a form of the principle of non-contradiction will form the basis of the rest of this series, unless proven false or unusable.

¹Definitions are here.

Conventions

Some conventions used by the author of this blog:

• “something” – double quotes indicate a direct quote.
• ‘something’ – single quotes may indicate:
  • A translation of a direct quote.
  • A word/phrase used in a non-literal sense, where I expect I may get people complaining as if it were meant literally.

LKP – L-Definitions

• Axiom: A claim made either because it is self-evident, or because a choice must be made between a set of alternatives.
• Definition: The meaning of a term. This can be done regardless of the validity of the term, or its assumptions, as it is simply a way of defining what we mean when we say something, whether it’s true or not.

LKP¹ – Introduction

From a basis of the absence of all knowledge and assumptions, this series will attempt to build a rational foundation for the pursuit of knowledge and philosophy. If successful, this foundation will then be used to discover what can be known of reality, and to develop philosophy consistent with these foundations and the knowledge the lead to.

So, to begin, drop all your assumptions and everything you think or believe you know². You must distrust everything that you know, think, feel, or perceive, for it may all just be a hallucination, a dream, an elaborate ruse, all of which are an unsuitable foundation on which to build anything but more illusions and delusions.

1. “Logic, Knowledge, and Philosophy” – The series name.
2. Not literally, of course. It would be difficult to proceed if you forgot how to read and use the web. Or to feed yourself, for that matter.

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