Verification - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Verification, at its core, is the act of establishing the truth, accuracy, or validity of something; yet, doesn't the very notion of "truth" itself beckon a deeper, more challenging quest?
Though the precise origin of the term remains somewhat obscured, the concept of Verification has been employed implicitly for millennia. One could argue that the drive to verify is as old as skepticism itself. Consider Aristotle's meticulous categorization of syllogisms (valid argument) in Prior Analytics (circa 350 BCE) and his pursuit of establishing logically sound premises: a quest for Verification through rational deduction. Long before the term took its modern form, philosophers and logicians were grappling with the standards by which claims could be considered verified, and to what degree.
Throughout the ages, the pursuit of Verification has been linked to some of humanity's most pivotal moments and great conversation through individuals and history. The scientific revolution, epitomized by figures like Galileo, hinged on empirical Verification through experimentation. The enlightenment philosophers then began investigating moral philosophy. The challenge to traditional authority necessitated new standards of evidence and rational justification. Kant's insistence on the categorical imperative and the hypothetical imperative encouraged a systematic Verification of moral actions. Then in the 20th century, the rise of logical positivism attempted to establish Verification as the criterion for meaningfulness, sparking philosophical debates and setting the stage for Popper's falsifiability principle. However, the wason test and the "moty hall problem", brought to light the deep seated cognitive bias humans possess and the struggle to employ critical thinking and rational thinking. Thinkers continue to wrangle with subjective morality (moral relativism) vs objective morality (moral absolutism).
Today, Verification is a cornerstone of the scientific method, a battleground in epistemology, a constant companion to critical thinking, and a fundamental test applied to algorithms, and it has become a key to ethical obligations in AI. Yet, as we navigate the proliferation of information in the digital age, the challenge of discerning truth from falsehood has never been more acute. How do we verify the sources we encounter or the arguments we hear? How do we, as individuals and as a society, ensure that what we believe and act upon is genuinely verified? The inquiry beckons, urging everyone to question, examine, and verify.