In This Selection Russell First Distinguishes Between Knowledge by Acquaintance

question 4

True/False

In this selection Russell first distinguishes between knowledge by acquaintance (e.g., knowledge by appearances, such as "I seem to see a red book," "I am in pain," or "I think, therefore I am") and knowledge by description (knowledge of truths, such as your knowing that you are really seeing a red book or that your pain is caused by having twisted your ankle). Knowledge by acquaintance is generally thought to be infallible because believing it makes the proposition true. But the same is not the case for descriptive knowledge claims because your beliefs could be false. Thus, descriptive knowledge is dualistic-it has the properties of truth and falsity as opposites-whereas knowledge by acquaintance is monistic and does not admit such opposites. Russell goes on to specify the conditions for an adequate theory of truth and shows how the correspondence theory meets these conditions, whereas the coherence theory does not.
-Russell says that it is common for two rival hypotheses to both be able to account for all the facts.

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Definitions:

Nonconforming Goods

Products shipped to a buyer that do not meet the specifications or quality standards agreed upon in the contract.

Merchant Seller

A business or individual that sells goods to consumers in the course of their trade or business.

Nonmerchant Buyer

An individual or entity that purchases goods but does not regularly deal in goods of that kind, thus lacking certain protections and obligations under commercial law.

Risk of Loss

A legal term denoting the liability for damage to goods in a sales contract, determining who bears the risk if the goods are damaged or lost.