The title explains the thread, post away.

Direct experience or trust in authority.

How do you know that this experience is real, or that this authority is trustworthy?

How do you know that this experience is real, or that this authority is trustworthy?

By applying critical thinking to the best of my ability.

I may be wrong, of course, but I don't proclaim to know the truth. Maybe nobody knows the truth.

And what do you mean by real experience? An experience in a dream might be just as subjectively real for my mind than any encounter during the waking life, and there would be no difference between this or that experience in how it influences my further actions.

By applying critical thinking to the best of my ability.

I may be wrong, of course, but I don't proclaim to know the truth. Maybe nobody knows the truth.

And what do you mean by real experience? An experience in a dream might be just as subjectively real for my mind than any encounter during the waking life, and there would be no difference between this or that experience in how it influences my further actions.

Sorry, I mean how do you know that the experience is not a one time thing, something that happened by chance. How do you know that the outcome of that same experience may be different if you go through it again, but at a different time and place. Also, how do you know that your critical thinking is right? Can we fully know and understand something? Or is there some assumption that we must always make?

I don't, I can only expect. Universe is a mystery. I don't think we can ever be 100% sure that we fully know and understand something that is not of our own making, because the attention of our psyche is subjective.

I don't, I can only expect. Universe is a mystery. I don't think we can ever be 100% sure that we fully know and understand something that is not of our own making, because the attention of our psyche is subjective.

So we will constantly live with doubt? Never knowing for sure what is true?

Sure. Truth is a concept, any way. There is no reason to believe that there even exists such a thing as "truth" or "true being" in objective reality. Even "reality" itself is a concept of our mind and language. It changes and morphs through our discoveries in science and philosophy, and belief.
What was reality for humanity a 100 years ago is no longer the same reality we live in today, even though nothing has changed.

Concepts are made by humans. We have a concept "perfect", but is anything objectively perfect?

I don't proclaim to know, what is real or unreal, or even if there exists such a thing as reality, or what is true or not, or even if there exists such a thing as truth, I'm just here for the experience that is real and true for me.
In the end - it won't make a difference - so I'm just doing the best I can.

All I know is that all knowledge and thought is transient; all actions shape the future.

And since all our actions arise from our psyshce, our future is shapen by our psyche.

Because if I didn't know, I'd be really stupid and couldn't write this message to you.

I think saying " I know.." just has some practical application. It does help us to avoid doubt and hesistation approaching some things that are most likely true enough where taking the time to doubt or ponder the situation could be problematic, troublesome, dangerous.. whatever.

I like to sometimes say " I know this is true. Probably." heh

It's fun to think about for a little while, but you'll get a headache if you try for too long. There's nothing to be gained by it, anyway. If reality isn't real, how do you plan on thinking your way to that conclusion? It's a bit of a dichotomy.

JDawg It isn't a dichotomy, it is a paradox though.

The answer is; truth is irrelevant. What's most beneficial to humanity is key.

How do you know that you know?

verification.

The answer is; truth is irrelevant. What's most beneficial to humanity is key.

The truth and the beneficial are not necessarily mutually exclusive, though.

If you don't know anything, you can't expect anything.

Therefore necessarily you know something, that would be: that you do expect something. And that is based on experience - you expect to see what you have seen, as well as things you haven't seen yet.

Mod Hat — Xfer

This seems more suited for General Philosophy.