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Full Idea
Radical foundationalism suffers from two weaknesses: there are not so many perfectly obvious truths as Descartes thought; and if we restrict ourselves to what it truly obvious, very little supposed common sense knowledge can be proved.
Gist of Idea
There are very few really obvious truths, and not much can be proved from them
Source
Ernest Sosa (The Raft and the Pyramid [1980], §3)
Book Ref
'Epistemology - An Anthology', ed/tr. Sosa,E. /Kim,J. [Blackwell 2000], p.136
A Reaction
It is striking how few examples can ever be found of self-evident a priori truths. However, if there are self-evident truths about direct experience (pace Descartes), that would give us more than enough.
| 22141 | It is enough if we refute the objections and leave common opinions undisturbed [Aristotle] |
| 95 | If everyone believes it, it is true [Aristotle] |
| 6492 | Reid is seen as the main direct realist of the eighteenth century [Reid, by Robinson,H] |
| 23654 | In obscure matters the few must lead the many, but the many usually lead in common sense [Reid] |
| 23633 | Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid] |
| 8794 | There are very few really obvious truths, and not much can be proved from them [Sosa] |
| 2960 | Commonsense realism must account for the similarity of genuine perceptions and known illusions [Lockwood] |
| 22668 | Apprehension is a complex intellect grasping the essence of a complex object [Holt,L] |
| 14466 | A chief task of philosophy is making reflective sense of our common sense worldview [Thomasson] |