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Questions tagged [foundationalism]

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11 votes
5 answers
1k views

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 ...
Ather Cheema's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

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 ...
Kevin Davis's user avatar
10 votes
6 answers
6k views

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 ...
QWERTY_dw's user avatar
  • 709
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

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 ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
349 views

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 ...
Max Wallace's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
290 views

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 ...
eMansipater's user avatar
  • 1,528
5 votes
2 answers
203 views

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 ...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
861 views

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 ...
mavavilj's user avatar
  • 3,036
4 votes
4 answers
749 views

Can the PSR be true for everything except the universe?

There is something called the principle of sufficient reason: everything happens for a reason. I believe that everything happens for a reason because inductively, that has been the case every time. It ...
Baby_philosopher's user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
613 views

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 ...
Just Some Old Man's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
711 views

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 ...
user28843's user avatar
  • 307
3 votes
3 answers
10k views

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 "...
Niklas Rosencrantz's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
98 views

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?
PDT's user avatar
  • 456
3 votes
2 answers
169 views

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 ...
user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
127 views

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 ...
Adam Sharpe's user avatar
  • 3,864

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