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Single Idea 3586
[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 2. Causal Justification
]
Full Idea
Justification requires logical rather than causal connections. That is the point of the slogan that only a belief can justify a belief.
Gist of Idea
Only a belief can justify a belief
Source
Michael Williams (Problems of Knowledge [2001], Ch.10)
Book Ref
Williams,Michael: 'Problems of Knowledge' [OUP 2001], p.122
A Reaction
It seems better to talk of 'rational' connections, rather than 'logical' connections. It isn't 'logical' to believe that someone despises me because their lip is faintly curled.
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
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Sensory experience may be fixed, but it can still be misdescribed
[Williams,M]
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8853
|
Basic judgements are immune from error because they have no content
[Williams,M]
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3564
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Is it people who are justified, or propositions?
[Williams,M]
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3566
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We control our beliefs by virtue of how we enquire
[Williams,M]
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3565
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Sometimes I ought to distrust sources which are actually reliable
[Williams,M]
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3573
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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]
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3575
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Scepticism can involve discrepancy, relativity, infinity, assumption and circularity
[Williams,M]
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3576
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Foundationalists are torn between adequacy and security
[Williams,M]
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3577
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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
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Are empirical foundations judgements or experiences?
[Williams,M]
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3580
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Experience must be meaningful to act as foundations
[Williams,M]
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3582
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Propositions make error possible, so basic experiential knowledge is impossible
[Williams,M]
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3581
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Sense data can't give us knowledge if they are non-propositional
[Williams,M]
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3585
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Coherence needs positive links, not just absence of conflict
[Williams,M]
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3584
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Justification needs coherence, while truth might be ideal coherence
[Williams,M]
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3586
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Only a belief can justify a belief
[Williams,M]
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3587
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Seeing electrons in a cloud chamber requires theory
[Williams,M]
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3588
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Foundationalists base meaning in words, coherentists base it in sentences
[Williams,M]
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3589
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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
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Phenomenalism is a form of idealism
[Williams,M]
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3595
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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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