13
votes
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
You have misunderstood the point of the Munchausen Trilemma. It plays a key role in the process of philosophy showing that none of our beliefs are justified knowledge, per the standards of "reasoning"...
- 10.5k
12
votes
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
Circular argument
We know it's a trilemma because the argument is founded on logic and proofs, and all proofs will end in either circular logic, infinite regression, or a foundational assumption.
...
- 17.5k
10
votes
How far can/should one press philosophical doubt?
Descartes was the modern founder of what is called foundationalism about knowledge, the idea that we must find a secure self-evident ground from which all the rest of our knowledge can be justified. ...
- 42.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How does Epistemology show that it's not a language game?
I will make several suggestions, although I am not certain that I interpret the question as intended. The strongest case (arguably) for philosophical foundations to epistemology in modern times, ...
- 42.5k
5
votes
Is G.E. Moore's here-is-one-hand argument a bit naive?
Euclid was mocked for demonstrating existence of triangles, and Peano for proving that 1 is a number (by Poincaré, no less), but both contributed to clarifying foundations of mathematics. Considering ...
- 42.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Defending the Unpopular: Foundationalism
To expand slightly on what Conifold mentioned, according to IEP the "modest foundationalism" has Alvin Platinga as a prime exponent; Wikipedia mostly covers that under "reformed ...
- 1,942
5
votes
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
The trilemma is about justification of a given proposition. Any justification, so the story goes, takes ultimately one of these forms if faced with skepticism.
Therefore, the third option is about ...
- 13.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Was Aquinas a foundationalist?
St. Thomas follows Aristotle in his solution of the regress problem: There must be an indemonstrable first principle because if everything were demonstrable, there would be an infinite regress; cf. ...
- 7,817
3
votes
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
The first and main point to understand about the trilemma is that it is an argument. As such, its function is to convince other human beings, at least to the extent that they are rational.
The ...
- 6,242
3
votes
Alternatives to Axiomatic Method
The non-axiomatic method is common in the work of applied mathematicians. At the turn of the 20th century leading mathematicians like Felix Klein, while acknowledging the importance of ...
- 867
2
votes
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, there may be ...
- 7,420
2
votes
Accepted
Why isn't Descartes using psychologism?
I had read someone claim he was against foundationalism, or
specifically psychologism. Does he agree to use a limited amount or am
I wrong about this being an experience?
Although it may sound ...
- 2,369
2
votes
Accepted
Cartesian Skepticism within a Coherentist Epistemology
You might be interested in three attempt to reconcile foundationalism and coherentism :
Sven Ove Hansson, 'The False Dichotomy between Coherentism and Foundationalism', The Journal of Philosophy, ...
- 35.4k
2
votes
Is G.E. Moore's here-is-one-hand argument a bit naive?
Let's get Moore's text up on screen :
I can prove now, for instance, that two human hands exist. How? By holding up my two hands, and saying, as I make a certain gesture with the right hand, 'Here ...
- 35.4k
2
votes
Accepted
Alternatives to Axiomatic Method
Rota himself hints at methods able to complement the axiomatic method in his article:
historical analysis
psychological explanations
reversal considerations
Rota blames mathematics for developments ...
- 3,909
2
votes
Basic truths as self-justified or parajustified
Talk of "self-evident" truths, sometimes called "axioms" (though "axiom" now carries mainly the sense of "not inferred," regardless of the attendant ...
- 12.3k
2
votes
Accepted
How many variations on graph-theoretic/related parameters indicate alternatives to foundationalism/coherentism/infinitism?
Warning. I'm just speculating, because while I appreciate your effort to build a better formal set theory formalism, I don't have the sophistication to respond to the details of your account, and more ...
- 22.7k
1
vote
What are the most rational basic beliefs?
Always try to confirm or to refute your own conjectures.
Be aware that also humans - alike all species - have their border of
cognitive capabilities.
- 24k
1
vote
What are the most rational basic beliefs?
... it's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes them different from a basic
belief such as 'Deductive reasoning is reliable'. Nonetheless, it
would seem this one is a basic belief that is rational or ...
- 415
1
vote
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
Let's turn the trilemma on itself just for the fun of it.
Either the trilemma is itself satisfactorily justified or it is not.
If it is not, then either no justification is needed, else it is ...
- 2,143
1
vote
Is the Münchhausen trilemma really a trilemma?
The dogmatic argument, which rests on accepted precepts which are
merely asserted rather than defended
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchhausen_trilemma
Much of knowledge is stipulated ...
- 415
1
vote
Is the beginning of Hegel's philosophy an example of foundationalism?
You're using the word 'foundationalism' quite imprecisely, which is why you see Hegel as a foundationalist. Foundationalism is an epistemological doctrine about the structure of justification. They ...
- 2,137
1
vote
Does current metaphysics answer Jacobi's critique of foundationalism?
Infinite regress problems are a result of a misunderstanding of epistemology. Epistemology is about how knowledge is created, how you can distinguish what ideas you should adopt and act on, and ...
- 7,420
1
vote
Is Philosophy the source of all other fields of study?
Philosophy is traditionally considered as the "mother" of all other disciplines. It is also true that when you get deeply into the foundations of nearly any discipline, it begins to overlap with ...
- 27k
1
vote
Accepted
Is Philosophy the source of all other fields of study?
So, is philosophy the source or the foundation of all sciences.. what
is the foundations of philosophy?.. can psychology explain to me how
philosophizing is done?
You can find the following quote ...
- 3,601
1
vote
Was Aquinas a foundationalist?
Eleonore Stump tries to extricate Aquinas from the Cartesian problematic of foundationalism in this article, "Aquinas on the foundations of knowledge".
https://philpapers.org/rec/STUAOT-3
One author ...
- 29
1
vote
Are "being 1" and "being 2" basic concepts of our mind?
This question is quite vague (esoteric?), so the answer will not be very precise, too. First, I agree that "oneness" and "twoness" are fundamental because the former gives us the basic unit, the ...
- 4,570
1
vote
Accepted
Are universal skepticism and foundationalism at odds?
So the Cartesian project of complete foundationalist certainty has been abandoned my contemporary epistemologists. Nevertheless there are still foundationalists, and they tend to really stress the ...
- 541
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