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Single Idea 4582

[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 4. Foundationalism / b. Basic beliefs ]

Full Idea

Sentence are held to be basic because they are self-evident or 'cataleptic' (Stoics), or rooted in sense data (positivists), or grasped by intuition (Platonists), or revealed by God, or grasped by faculties certified by God (Descartes).

Gist of Idea

Basic beliefs are self-evident, or sensual, or intuitive, or revealed, or guaranteed

Source

J Baggini / PS Fosl (The Philosopher's Toolkit [2003], §1.01)

Book Ref

Baggini,J and Fosl,P.S.: 'The Philosopher's Toolkit' [Blackwells 2003], p.5


A Reaction

These are a bit blurred. Isn't intuition self-evident? Isn't divine guarantee a type of revelation? How about reason, experience or authority?


The 15 ideas with the same theme [contents and origin of foundational beliefs]:

When you understand basics, you can't be persuaded to change your mind [Aristotle]
Some things are their own criterion, such as straightness, a set of scales, or light [Sext.Empiricus]
We can know basic Principles without further knowledge, but not the other way round [Descartes]
Knowledge can't be its own foundation; there has to be regress of higher and higher authorities [Fichte]
Demonstration does not rest on first principles of reason or sensation, but on freedom from actual doubt [Peirce]
The big problem for foundationalism is to explain how basic beliefs are possible [Bonjour]
If basic beliefs can be false, falsehood in non-basic beliefs might by a symptom [Dancy,J]
Conscious states have built-in awareness of content, so we know if a conceptual description of it is correct [Bonjour]
Basic judgements are immune from error because they have no content [Williams,M]
Experience must be meaningful to act as foundations [Williams,M]
People rarely have any basic beliefs, and never enough for good foundations [Pollock/Cruz]
Foundationalism requires self-justification, not incorrigibility [Pollock/Cruz]
Basic beliefs are self-evident, or sensual, or intuitive, or revealed, or guaranteed [Baggini /Fosl]
An experience's having propositional content doesn't make it a belief [Pryor]
'Moderate' foundationalism has basic justification which is defeasible [Grundmann]