Epistemic Presupposition
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
Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | 1 August 2021 | This 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 Theories
Theory | Formulation | Formulated 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 |
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Accepted Theories
Community | Theory | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | Epistemic Presupposition (Barseghyan-Levesley-2021) | 6 February 2023 |
Suggested Modifications
Modification | Community | Date Suggested | Summary | Verdict | Verdict Rationale | Date Assessed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sciento-2021-0001 | Scientonomy | 1 August 2021 | Accept the definitions of logical presupposition and epistemic presupposition. | 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 | 6 February 2023 |
Current View
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."
TODO: Nikki add a description