Square One

The Foundations of Knowledge

By: Steve Patterson

Narrated by: Steve Patterson

"Truth is discoverable. I'm certain of it. It's not popular to say. It's not popular to think. But I know it's true."

So begins an examination into the most fundamental questions in philosophy. Does objective truth exist? Can we know anything with certainty? Are there true logical contradictions?

Steve Patterson answers emphatically, "We can know absolute, certain, and objective truths. These truths serve as the foundation for the rest of our knowledge."

Square One is an examination of knowledge, logic, and the extreme skepticism that permeates modern thinking. It contains several refutations to popular attacks on human reason, including a resolution to the Liar's Paradox.

Patterson writes in an easy-to-hear, non-academic style. There's no jargon or long-winded pontificating about ideas that don't matter. This audiobook is a response to those who insist, "Truth cannot be known."

©2016 Steve Patterson (P)2017 Steve Patterson

Thought provocating

Steve is a great thinker. Very much enjoyed the narration from Steve; He keep me engaged

An introduction to the foundations of cognition

Square One does exactly what it sets out to do: demonstrate that all knowledge stems from the inscrutable certainty that things are the way they are, and the rest is just clarifying exactly what that means.

I'm very familiar with the laws of logic and identity, and I have to admit that for the first few chapters I was wondering if I was going to get anything new from this short book. By the end though, I found many of Patterson's illustrations and arguments sufficiently illuminating that I feel my understanding of something I thought was very familiar to now be enhanced. I particularly like Patterson's insistence that everything which appears to be a logical contradiction is actually just semantic imprecision.

Ideally, Square One would work best as an introduction to a longer series of the application of logic. Perhaps there is a Square Two in the works where we learn how to apply reason to our observations in a scientific manner, but on its own it still works for the foundation of cognition. The writing is never overly academic or posturing for the run-of-the-mill non-academic philosopher. Use the lessons contained here to help the young intellectuals in your life build the branches and leaves of their worldview from a trunk of certainty and intellectual honesty.