Questions tagged [foundationalism]
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What does it mean for something to “break” infinite regress?
When it comes to the cosmological argument, proponents point out that a first cause is needed to stop an infinite regress of causes.
In epistemology, foundationalism is used to break the infinite ...
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How many variations on graph-theoretic/related parameters indicate alternatives to foundationalism/coherentism/infinitism?
The set theory I'm trying to work in right now is geared towards applying an "axiom of multifoundation" whose local maximum representation is:
The interpretation of the elementhood glyphs ...
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Are beliefs like "I am in pain" really incorrigible and basic?
I am reading about epistemology and foundationalism and I see this claim that beliefs about your own inner mental states are incorrigible and basic. But is that really so? For someone to believe the ...
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Basic truths as self-justified or parajustified
Some foundationalists maintain that basic truths are self-justifying, which means they are allowing, in some exceptional cases at least, a form of circular reasoning; petitio principii or begging the ...
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Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
It claims there are three options of which none of them are satisfying.
Circular argument doesn't prove anything because it's just when the premise is the same as the conclusion.
x ∵ x
Infinite ...
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Descartes' foundationalism [closed]
Is the cogito an axiom from which we can reason axioms of mathematics? Was Descartes' aim to make mathematics (and other fields of knowledge) reducible to the cogito?
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Is category theory an example of foundherentism?
After reading this essay about the history of type theory, I have refined my assessment of the set- vs. type-theory question in two ways. More similarly to what I was thinking before, I still ground ...
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Are universal skepticism and foundationalism at odds?
As I understand it, universal skepticism says that everything is uncertain. For example, you can't even say that you are sure that 1=1 because it depends upon your notion of equality. There are no ...
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Second-order skepticism
Let "kS" = "It is known that S." Then kkS or k2S is a common hypothesis in epistemic logic (the full hypothesis can be stated as kS → k2S). So a second-order skeptic [SOS] at least ...
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Defending the Unpopular: Foundationalism
Foundationalism, once considered a valid and popular philosophy, now receives nearly universal contempt. There seems to be a consensus, in both analytic and continental camps, it is dead.
Are there ...
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A "paradox" of coherentism?
This is a follow-up to a question I had about foundationalism, which seems paradoxical inasmuch as it is a thesis that has been argued for (perhaps it is just the historical argumentation that is ...
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What are the most rational basic beliefs?
I understand that this question might be difficult or even unresolved. But within a foundationalist view of knowledge, has anyone proposed a set of basic beliefs that seem to be the most rational for ...
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A "paradox" of foundationalism?
(Caveat: I use the word "paradox" here as in "Skolem's paradox," a quasi-contradictory (if you will) conjunction of facts, not an outright contradiction.)
I actually can ask the ...
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The structure of the epistemic regress
I just read this essay on coherentism, and it resonated with a question I have about reconciling foundationalism, coherentism, and infinitism. The gist of the essay is that there are graph-theoretic ...
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Question about the IEP’s (Michael Huemer’s) formulation of phenomenal conservatism
(I posted the identical question on the AskPhilosophy subreddit.)
I first learned about phenomenal conservatism under a different name, “the principle of credulity”, from the philosopher of religion ...
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Is the beginning of Hegel's philosophy an example of foundationalism?
one preliminary remark: this post could be of interest to anyone engaging with the thought of Hegel (especially his theoretical philosophy) or who is interested in fundamental metaphysical problems.
...
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How does Epistemology show that it's not a language game?
I'm looking for pointers towards texts that treat the issue of "doing philosophy with language" as a foundational problem-- which must be justified in order to go on and make meaningful statements ...
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Why isn't Descartes using psychologism?
Descartes says "I think therefore I am", isn't he using psychologism, by using a personal experience of thinking?
I had read someone claim he was against foundationalism, or specifically psychologism....
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Cartesian Skepticism within a Coherentist Epistemology
I recently decided that it is high time I reacquaint myself with the early moderns, and I thought there could be no better place to start with than Descartes' Mediations on First Philosophy. Reading ...
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Correctness of an argument inversely correlated to length?
How do we label the idea that the likely correctness of an argument or theory decreases with the size of the exposition required to expound it?
Let me make a probabilistic analogy. Suppose we have a ...
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Is G.E. Moore's here-is-one-hand argument a bit naive?
Are G.E. Moore, etc., a bit naive at times? (see here-is-one-hand argument).
Does such trivial thing really need "formalization"? Why isn't Moore accused of idealism, when he could be interpreted as ...
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Does current metaphysics answer Jacobi's critique of foundationalism?
F. H. Jacobi (Wikipedia) argued in the late 18th century against Kant that any foundation of knowledge will inevitably lead to an infinite regression of justifications (thus any foundation of ...
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Is Philosophy the source of all other fields of study?
[CONTEXT]
I started a self-education plan to learn computer science from foundations. then, I found my self in need to learn electrical engineering, after that I understant that I should learn Physics ...
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Was Aquinas a foundationalist?
Foundationalism is, generally speaking, the belief that a group of undoubtable beliefs 'ground,' or 'justify' other beliefs.
As of late, foundationalism has fallen out of favor in many different ...
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How far can/should one press philosophical doubt?
Should we keep on questioning until nothing is left to question or is there a point on which we need to stand (which we often tend to do)? Descartes used 'I think' as this fixed point where the ...
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Alternatives to Axiomatic Method
In his article The Pernicious Influence of Mathematics upon Philosophy (see Chapter 12 of this book) Rota says (my emphasis),
The axiomatic method of mathematics is one of the great achievements
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Are "being 1" and "being 2" basic concepts of our mind?
Everytime a mathematician uses the concept of function or relation he is dealing with the concept of "being 2": he's relating one object to another.
Everytime we use a logical conjuction we are ...
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Is illogical = not logical?
I think law of excluded middle makes sense to mean that a statement should be either logical or illogical but in this case I don't assume "not logical" = "illogical" since the author didn't say "...
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Does the law of excluded middle follow the law of excluded middle?
Example is that the word unknown is not unknown so it doesn't define itself. Similarly French is not French, it's in English, and "long" is not long and only 4 letters short. That's by example my ...
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How is Bonjour's coherence theory of justification not just a version of foundationalism?
In presenting his coherence theory of justification BonJour appeals to what he calls the “Observation Requirement.”
Bonjour’s observation requirement is the notion that there are some kinds of ...
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Are there any philosophers who advance a non-foundationalist absolutism?
I'm sure my terminology is poor here (background in math more than philosophy), but are there any philosophers who have advanced a distinctly non-relativist epistemology without ultimately coming out ...
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