Epistemic Presupposition

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What is epistemic presupposition? How should it be defined?

While theories are answers to questions, questions themselves often presuppose theories. The notion of presupposition can be understood logically or epistemically. Here, the task is to define the notion of epistemic presupposition.

In the scientonomic context, this term was first used by Hakob Barseghyan and Nichole Levesley in 2019. The term is currently accepted by Scientonomy community.

In Scientonomy, the accepted definition of the term is:

  • A theory is said to be an epistemic presupposition of a question for some agent, iff the agent accepts that accepting any direct answer to the question will necessitate accepting the theory.

Scientonomic History

Acceptance Record of the Term

Here is the complete acceptance record of this term (it includes all the instances when the term was accepted as a part of a community's taxonomy):
CommunityAccepted FromAcceptance IndicatorsStill AcceptedAccepted UntilRejection Indicators
Scientonomy1 August 2021This is when Barseghyan and Levesley's Question Dynamics that offered a definition of the term was published. This is a good indication that the question of how the term is to be defined is considered legitimate by the community.Yes

All Definitions

The following definitions of epistemic presupposition the term have been suggested:
TheoryFormulationFormulated In
Epistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021)A theory is said to be an epistemic presupposition of a question for some agent, iff the agent accepts that accepting any direct answer to the question will necessitate accepting the theory.2021
If a definition of this term is missing, please click here to add it.

Accepted Definitions

The following definitions of epistemic presupposition have been accepted:
CommunityTheoryFormulationAccepted FromAccepted Until
ScientonomyEpistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021)A theory is said to be an epistemic presupposition of a question for some agent, iff the agent accepts that accepting any direct answer to the question will necessitate accepting the theory.6 February 2023

Suggested Modifications

Here is a list of modifications concerning the definitions of epistemic presupposition:
Modification Community Date Suggested Summary Date Assessed Verdict Verdict Rationale
Sciento-2021-0001 Scientonomy 1 August 2021 Accept the definitions of logical presupposition and epistemic presupposition. 6 February 2023 Accepted It was emphasized that the "modification is appealing given the presence of questions as a basic class of epistemic element in our ontology and the need to reference their presuppositions in observational scientonomy alongside proposed laws concerning questions in theoretical scientonomy".c1 The commentators agreed that "an epistemic agent could plausibly accept all the epistemic presuppositions without necessarily accepting all the logical presuppositions".c2 They also also noted that "accepting separate definitions of logical presupposition and epistemic presupposition would improve the specificity of our communal knowledge - and perhaps our visualization capabilities".c3 Specifically, "there is clear value in distinguishing logical and epistemic presuppositions in scientonomic diagrams".c4 Finally, the commentators highlighted the importance of the distinction for the law of question acceptance.c5 c6

Current Definition

In Scientonomy, the accepted definition of the term is Epistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021).

Epistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021) states: "A theory is said to be an epistemic presupposition of a question for some agent, iff the agent accepts that accepting any direct answer to the question will necessitate accepting the theory."

Epistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021).png

TODO: Nikki add a description

Ontology

Existence

In Scientonomy, it is currently accepted that "There is such a thing as an epistemic presupposition."

Subtypes

In Scientonomy, there are currently no accepted subtypes of Epistemic Presupposition.

Supertypes

In Scientonomy, there are currently no accepted supertypes of Epistemic Presupposition.


If a question concerning the ontology of an epistemic presupposition is missing, please add it here.

Dynamics

If a question concerning the dynamics of an epistemic presupposition is missing, please add it here.