without turning my whole post into a discussion of phenomenology (of which i barely know anything but perhaps enough to understand) or a discussion of knoledge and truth (there is already a thread) what should i do in face of this is?
im a college freshie and we’d have to write essays soon. as usual, professors give us the usual blahblah of having to take a stand. usually when i have dialectics in my head, when i come to a ‘conclusion’ it usually is like this “i conclude that X but that is merely an opinion and i wouldnt really know what the truth is and no one would”. this of course applies to every aspect of philosophical discussion i engage in.
this is despite the contradiction that to assume that ‘there is no truth’ is to assume a truth. 
debating with myself often goes in circles and hits blank walls.
when i read posts here, essays or articles, i make mental side notes of “hmm okay, thats an interesting opinion but how would you know?”
in fact, i find that many of the posters here seem to be this way.
this lead to someone posting in the rant house that it is impossible to discuss anything in here (the thread has been deleted for verbal abuse)
while in here, it is not a conclusion but the each persons argument that’s important, in my essay, id have to reach a rock solid conclusion – but i cant 
what am i to do?
im just a pomo boho
ahh girl…you don’t need to know the definite truth. you just need to know what you believe, why you think this way, and own it. got it? it usually helps if you do a little dance at the end. 
Hi Pocky,
Logic helps, trying to avoid contradictions, making sure questions even make sense & can be answered (rather than just being mental calisthenics).
Drawing a firm conclusion is a great way to test your reasoning abilities & push yourself to discover what can be considered real evidence/proof & why. Check out the Chamber to see such stands taken & defended.
Bottom line “How would you know?†Well that all depends on your standards, but you can’t form any solid ones without trying. It has helped me to understand that it isn’t wrong (or immoral for that matter) not to “know†something, we aren’t omniscient. It is wrong however not to try to find out where applicable.
Also (& it will probably sound lame or even dumb) it really helps to start with things you really really like or really really hate.
Get opinionated! – Charlie Brown was lovable but he was a cartoon & a loser!
Regards,