Let me state, at the outset, that I am not a professional philosopher. My background is primarily in mathematics and computer science. So you should take this post as mostly reflecting my personal opinion.Social learning and social cognitive theory I like to think that opinion is informed by my study of cognition and consciousness. As best I can tell, nobody else is studying consciousness in quite the same way.Social learning and social cognitive theory

For background on the meaning of “nuomena”, I suggest the wikipedia article. Apparently, plato used the term to refer to his ideal forms. But, more recently, the term has been used for what kant described as the thing in itself.Social learning and social cognitive theory I take that to be a reference to the world undistorted by human ideas and concepts. I should note that “nuomena” is plural, with “nuomenon” as the corresponding singular.Social learning and social cognitive theory and I shall use the expression “nuomenal world” for the world of nuomena.

These terms contrast with “phenomena”, “phenomenon” and “phenomenal world” which refer to the world that we experience, the world as we understand it from our sensory experience.Social learning and social cognitive theory and, for good measure, we can throw in the idea of the “intellectualist world” as the world that we talk about in our natural language discussions.Social learning and social cognitive theory the intellectualist world includes our descriptions of the phenomenal world and it also include our talk of abstract entities. What is knowledge?Social learning and social cognitive theory

If knowledge is in knowing how, then yes we do have knowledge of the noumenal world. We are able to walk around in that world and live our daily lives there.Social learning and social cognitive theory I count our ability to navigate the world as knowledge of that world. Of course, we do use concepts in that navigation. But we can see that as just an implementation detail in our knowledge.Social learning and social cognitive theory it does not matter that those concepts and conceptualizations are not themselves part of the nuomenal world. The intellectualist world

That we have added structure to the nuomenal world, is because we have the ability to structure that world.Social learning and social cognitive theory and the abilities that we have developed constitute our knowhow in navigating the nuomenal world. Some people criticize the idea that we structure the world, the idea that the structure comes from us.Social learning and social cognitive theory but it has to come from us, else we would lack that ability to navigate the world. The way that we navigate the world is different from the way that a bird or an ant or a butterfly would navigate the world.Social learning and social cognitive theory and we need to structure the world in a way that fits with our basic biology.

Our facts are facts about the structure that we find in the intellectualist world.Social learning and social cognitive theory our truths are true statements about that structure. If the structure is not part of the nuomenal world, then neither are facts and truths. So facts and truths are human artifacts.Social learning and social cognitive theory they are part of how we have developed knowhow to navigate the nuomenal world and how we share that knowhow with others in our communities. The phenomenal world

social learning and social cognitive theory

It is sometimes said that the phenomena are a given, and our knowledge starts with those phenomena. But that’s surely a mistake. What is given, are crude raw abilities to make sensory distinctions.Social learning and social cognitive theory our cognitive system then builds from those crude abilities, a more comprehensive ability to structure the world in a way that is useful to us.Social learning and social cognitive theory this building on our raw abilities is amounts to perceptual learning, or acquiring improved skills at perception. And the phenomena present to us that structured world, built by those acquired perceptual skills.Social learning and social cognitive theory perceptual learning is acquiring of perceptual knowhow, and our ability to navigate the world depends on that. The phenomena, or perceptual experiences, are the experiences of applying that knowhow to the world.Social learning and social cognitive theory summary