OptimisticAndPessimisticEpistemology
ThoughtStorms Wiki
Kant's insight : What you can know is constrained by what you are.
Epistemologists can respond to this in one of two ways. I call these Pessimistic and Optimistic
The pessimistic epistemologist takes this as the cue that he/she should be engaged in the process of deducing the limitations of our knowledge according to our nature.
Hence, depending on the slant of the particular philosopher, we are identified with our language, our culture, our history, our bodies or our biology; and the pessimist sketches the corresponding constraints these place on our potential knowledge.
The optimist realizes this is nonsense. Because the corrolory of "what you know is constrained by what you are" is that if you want to transcend this constraint, and know more, you simply have to change what it is you are. And there are far fewer philosophically deducible limits on that.
This is where epistemology coincides with issues of PersonalIdentity and TransHumanism.
Maybe even RezaNegarestani's RationalInhumanism
CategoryPhilosophy, CategoryEpistemology