    # KEHOME/knowledge/theory/NaturalSemanticMetalanguage/evidence.html
    # Oct/20/2003

# Validation of Knowledge

## Basic Ideas

The evidence used to validate knowledge comes from many sources.

- personal senses: see, hear
- personal actions: do something
- personal inference from senses and actions
- hearsay evidence from other people

Some natural languages have very elaborate semantics for specifying what type of evidence was used to arrive at conclusions.

## NSM Examples [1]

- Kashaya (northern California)

- I know this because I am doing it
- I know this because I did it a short time before
- I know this because I saw it
- I know this because I see it
- everyone knows it
- I know this because I hear it
- I don't say this because someone else said this; I know it
- I say this because someone else said this; I don't say: I know it
- I know this because I know something else
- I know this now because I know something else now; I didn't know it before now
- I know this not because someone else said something; it happened a long time before now

- Huanuco Quechua (central Peru)

- I say this not because someone else said it; I know it
- I say this because someone else said it; I don't say: I know it
- I think this; I don't know it

- Tarma Quechua (central Peru)

- I know this
- someone else says this; I don't say: I know it
- I think this; I don't know it

- Wintu (northern California)

- I think this because something happens (happened) to me
- someone says this; I don't say: I know it
- I know something now (because I see something); I think I can say something about someone because of this
- I think this; I can't say: I know it

- Maricopa

- I know this happened; people could see it
- I know it happened because I did it; people could see this
- I know it happened because it happened to me; people could see this
- I know this happened; people could see it
- I know this happened; people could hear it
- I know it happened because I did it; people could hear this
- I know this happened; people could hear it
- people say this; I don't say: I know it

- Macedonian

- I know this
- I think this
- I know this not because someone said something
- I think this because someone said something

## Qualitative Evidence Scale [2]

Peikoff describes the gradual accumulation of evidence required to support a conclusion, in a given context. He identifies four states of a conclusion, as one moves from ignorance to knowledge.

- abitrary - no evidence supports the conclusion
- possible - some, but not much, evidence supports it, and nothing is known that contradicts it
- probable - a substantial body of evidence supports it, but some doubt remains
- certain - all available evidence supports it, and there are no grounds for doubt

## References

1. Anna Wierzbicka, "Semantics: Primes and Universals", Oxford University Press, 1996.
   Chapter 15.
2. Leonard Peikoff, "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand", Dutton, 1991.
   Chapter 5.

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