Epistemology

Jordan built a pyramid out of yellow legos. When I realized his pyramid was part of his imaginative Passover storytelling, I told him that I was pretty sure the Israelites did not build the Egyptian pyramids. (I read that somewhere.)

Jordan: No, Mommy, they did. Trust me. I know it.
Rachel: How do you know it?
Jordan: I saw a picture.
[He shows me the Passover placemat he got at religious school.]
Rachel: What if I say the picture is a mistake? How would we decide who is right?
[He looks at me blankly.]
Rachel: What if I say "No, that picture is not right, the people who drew it didn't know, and I know, and the Israelites did not build the pyramids." How could we decide who is right?
[Long pause.]
Jordan: The picture is right.
Rachel: Anytime Mommy says one thing and a picture says another thing, the picture is right?
Jordan: Yes.
Rachel: Why?
Jordan: Because they would have done a test before they drew it.

I'm not sure what he meant by a test, but I took him to be saying that printed pictures are officially sanctioned documents, and thus have been vetted in some way. Which is not unreasonable. Although it is undermined somewhat by the fact that the placemat has spelling errors on it.

In case you are interested in the content of the discussion and not only the views of knowledge implied therein: Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, says that ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, not foreign slaves:

"The scenario of whip-driven slaves received support from the biblical account of Moses and the Exodus and the first-century A.D. historian Josephus. In our era, Cecil B. de Mille's galvanizing screen images reinforced this popular misconception. The pyramid builders were not slaves but peasants conscripted on a rotating part-time basis, working under the supervision of skilled artisans and craftsmen who not only built the pyramid complexes for the kings and nobility, but also designed and constructed their own, more modest tombs."

In case you don't want to take my (or his) word for it, scholarly research is referenced on Hawass's page. (And I will add that I don't think the Bible mentions the pyramids at all, with regard to the Hebrew slaves' work - just Pithom and Ramses, the treasure cities of those pharaohs.)