Questions tagged [foundationalism]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...