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Are you saying you require evidence to know when you're hungry, or that somehow "knowing" you're hungry is evidence? Must be one or the other I'm afraid.
Well, we can test anyone's "feeling" that they are hungry. We can, through blood sugar analysis, MRI's to show brain activity, possibly ultrasound or endoscope views to show stomach muscle contractions, etc. to determine if someone who reports feeling hungry shows any difference in any of these factors compared to people who do not report feeling hungry.
We can also show, through animal brain lesioning tests, that it is possible to remove the ability for an animal to feel full, and it is possible to affect hunger and eating patterns in other ways as well.
So, I am afraid that it isn't as simple as you want it to be.
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Even though you are rationalists, you force out unobservables, according to your convenience. For example, possible supernatural agencies.
Well, "it happened by magic" can always be invoked, but where does that leave you? What understanding have you gained into the workings of some phenomena? It doesn't increase understanding in the least. It causes inquiry and learning to cease completely.
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Did Homo Erectus have knowledge that he hungered?
I imagine so, yes. It is a basic biological imperative to consume fuel.
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Can we know things through our senses and feeling, and therefore without evidence?
Senses are not the same as feelings.
My sense of hearing is roughly the same as anyone else's with normal hearing. Same with my senses of sight and touch. My senses of smell and especially taste are possibly a bit better trained than average due to my profession, but the basic ability to taste and smell are the same as most people.
If 1000 people with normal ability to taste are given some a sample of ocean water to taste, I predict that well over 90% of them will report that it tastes salty.
Now, can we make the same claims about the similarities of people's subjective feelings?
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Did he know he was hungry without evidence? Indeed, I suppose he never survived, and we don't exist - because he didn't have any science tools to evidence the fact that he was hungry.(Sarcasm).
Oh, but he did have science tools. He felt the sensation of pain in his belly that was a result of muscle contractions from his empty stomach.