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Single Idea 3564
[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 1. Justification / a. Justification issues
]
Full Idea
What exactly is supposed to be 'justified': a person's believing some particular proposition, or the proposition that he believes?
Gist of Idea
Is it people who are justified, or propositions?
Source
Michael Williams (Problems of Knowledge [2001], Ch. 1)
Book Ref
Williams,Michael: 'Problems of Knowledge' [OUP 2001], p.21
A Reaction
A key distinction. See my comment on Idea 3752. What would justify a sign saying 'treasure buried here'? People can be justified in believing falsehoods. How could a false proposition be justified?
Related Idea
Idea 3752
Justification can be of the belief, or of the person holding the belief [Bernecker/Dretske]
The
34 ideas
from Michael Williams
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8849
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Traditional foundationalism is radically internalist
[Williams,M]
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8851
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Coherentists say that regress problems are assuming 'linear' justification
[Williams,M]
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8852
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In the context of scepticism, externalism does not seem to be an option
[Williams,M]
|
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8855
|
Sensory experience may be fixed, but it can still be misdescribed
[Williams,M]
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8853
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Basic judgements are immune from error because they have no content
[Williams,M]
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3564
|
Is it people who are justified, or propositions?
[Williams,M]
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3566
|
We control our beliefs by virtue of how we enquire
[Williams,M]
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3565
|
Sometimes I ought to distrust sources which are actually reliable
[Williams,M]
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3573
|
Externalist reliability refers to a range of conventional conditions
[Williams,M]
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3571
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Externalism does not require knowing that you know
[Williams,M]
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3569
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In the causal theory of knowledge the facts must cause the belief
[Williams,M]
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3567
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How could there be causal relations to mathematical facts?
[Williams,M]
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3574
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Externalism ignores the social aspect of knowledge
[Williams,M]
|
|
3575
|
Scepticism can involve discrepancy, relativity, infinity, assumption and circularity
[Williams,M]
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|
3576
|
Foundationalists are torn between adequacy and security
[Williams,M]
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3577
|
Strong justification eliminates error, but also reduces our true beliefs
[Williams,M]
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3579
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Sense data avoid the danger of misrepresenting the world
[Williams,M]
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3578
|
Are empirical foundations judgements or experiences?
[Williams,M]
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3580
|
Experience must be meaningful to act as foundations
[Williams,M]
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3582
|
Propositions make error possible, so basic experiential knowledge is impossible
[Williams,M]
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3581
|
Sense data can't give us knowledge if they are non-propositional
[Williams,M]
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3585
|
Coherence needs positive links, not just absence of conflict
[Williams,M]
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3584
|
Justification needs coherence, while truth might be ideal coherence
[Williams,M]
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3586
|
Only a belief can justify a belief
[Williams,M]
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3587
|
Seeing electrons in a cloud chamber requires theory
[Williams,M]
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3588
|
Foundationalists base meaning in words, coherentists base it in sentences
[Williams,M]
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3589
|
Why should diverse parts of our knowledge be connected?
[Williams,M]
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3590
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Coherence theory must give a foundational status to coherence itself
[Williams,M]
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3591
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We could never pin down how many beliefs we have
[Williams,M]
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3593
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The only way to specify the corresponding fact is asserting the sentence
[Williams,M]
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3592
|
Phenomenalism is a form of idealism
[Williams,M]
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3595
|
What works always takes precedence over theories
[Williams,M]
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3594
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Scepticism just reveals our limited ability to explain things
[Williams,M]
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3599
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Deduction shows entailments, not what to believe
[Williams,M]
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