Single Idea 8877

[catalogued under 2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence]

Full Idea

Coherence involves the logical, explanatory and probabilistic relations among one's beliefs, but it could not do to attain a tightly iterrelated system by lopping off whatever beliefs refuse to fit.

Gist of Idea

We can't attain a coherent system by lopping off any beliefs that won't fit

Source

Ernest Sosa (Beyond internal Foundations to external Virtues [2003], 6.4)

Book Reference

Bonjour,L/Sosa,E: 'Epistemic Justification' [Blackwells 2003], p.111


A Reaction

This is clearly right, so the coherentist has to distinguish between lopping off a belief because it is inconvenient (fundamentalists rejecting textual contradictions), and lopping it off because it is wrong (chemists rejecting phlogiston).