Sean Barker wrote: (01)
> I tend rather to the view that our ontologies are the result of a
> dialect between our current ontology (somewhat culturally derived) and
> our experience (given the qualification that our experience is couched
> in terms of our ontology). On the assumption that there is an
> underlying physical reality (an objective set of causal relations)
> then - in a sort of Newton-Raphson convergence - eventually we should
> get an ontology from which we can infer the results of future
> experience. However, this is a distinction of methodology, and makes
> no difference to Hume's point. Once you assume (reasonably) that there
> are underlying causal relationships, the problem is then how to
> reliably uncover them.
>
> Sean Barker, Bristol
> (02)
The presumption of value in knowledge engineering (as distinct from
philosophy) seems to be based on this view.
I am reminded, however, of an apt aphorism from Samuel L. Clemens (aka
Mark Twain): (03)
"The trick is to glean from an experience exactly the knowledge that is
contained in it. A cat which sits down on a hot stove will never do it
again, but it will never sit on a cold stove again either."
-- Mark Twain (04)
-Ed (05)
--
Edward J. Barkmeyer Email: edbark@xxxxxxxx
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Manufacturing Systems Integration Division
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8263 Tel: +1 301-975-3528
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8263 Cel: +1 240-672-5800 (06)
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