-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 04/10/2010 17:54, Peter Damian wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Noein" <prono...@gmail.com> > To: "Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List" <foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org> > Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 4:06 PM > Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Has Wikipedia changed since 2005? > > > >> I am sincerely asking you, without insinuation: how do you know you're >> not one of them? What's the difference between the one who knows he >> knows and the one who doesn't know he doesn't know if it's only about >> self-perception (or social perception)? >> Where is the universality of knowledge in this conception if it boils >> down to intimate convictions ? > > There are well-established mechanisms for determining this. I have had many > papers published, I am currently working collaboratively with another > academic on a book on medieval philosophy. I have no problem working with > people who understand the rules, I am told the quality of my work is good.
This social acceptance (or credentials if you prefer) has a weak epistemological value.[1] It's only convincing for the people of your own circle - whether they're right or wrong is of no relevance -. For people outside your circle, with whom you can't discuss or don't want to, the arguments for your views are reduced to the authority: authority of the number of believers, prestige and ranks of the apostles, influence and mediatisation of the message, power and fearsomeness of the church you belong to, if you allow me to use an analogy. This unilateral way of handling down knowledge to the rest of mankind is a fertile ground for domination about the rights to talk, the ways to think, about the decisions that are to be taken. I'm not saying it's currently happening in your circle. I'm saying that it's an obsolete model for the sharing, free, collaborative, massive project that is wikipedia, and that you won't be able to force it on most individuals. Many editors, I believe, claim some sort of independence of thought, though many don't have the required knowledge to back it up, and I think this is the correct model from which a universal knowledge can be build, despite its current limits (giving the same powers to the ignorant than to the savant). Teach a mind to be critical and it can learn everything. Teach a mind what you believe and you just shaped a sheep. If it's about choosing between expert knowledge and independence of mind, I personally prefer the latter, because it will slowly but ultimately lead to the first, while the reciprocal is not guaranteed. Dealing with humans is much more annoying than with flocks, but that's the only way forward I can envision. That's why I believe that Wikipedia is right demanding sources and objective (not social ones) arguments. Although there is still some indecision if an article should be about what people said (a historical and literal approach), what they thought (a more comprehensive and philosophical one) or what the denoted reality is (a more scientific and objective one). Note, Peter, that I am not rejecting the value of your knowledge, your critics about quality of articles or your proposals. I only disagree about your model of communication of knowledge for wikipedia. [1]: following popperian criteria. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJMqgUsAAoJEHCAuDvx9Z6LE/MH/RzfF5fEk9+voftj3fAISAk6 UDzrzPfz/GjTvzbIAc4Vq3XesUsZ2T5ioJ+lcQB3oe31No1RYv3Q8u0heQet9IDo DMFrk0PlWvo8xK6H/7c+h6hXmYCi7Ub1rWu+jtQ+J0LlCwZQASSPFDul2Ahy2B0o P+FIvabE6Msfx+6FLNTlM5NArjfF2St43BobgsTLU5+aVbmGdDLAJI38rruPsG++ 8qxU79dOv9/OhweSfDQGcjZwxU5lu3Wtb7WjcYmHSrp1W1GGhGAsZmDLqM7RMUDc QunkAZxu6FsvZdVbNP6Ufn8X0EW5nDZOepUcZ1kECjARMw3UAnfOHFH4oLwyaqA= =Btvi -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
