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Full Idea
Agrippa's Trilemma offers three possible outcomes for a regress of justification: the chain goes on for ever (infinite); or the chain stops at an unjustified proposition (arbitrary); or the chain eventually includes the original proposition (circular).
Gist of Idea
Agrippa's Trilemma: justification is infinite, or ends arbitrarily, or is circular
Source
report of Agrippa (fragments/reports [c.60], §2) by Michael Williams - Without Immediate Justification §2
Book Ref
'Contemporary Debates in Epistemology', ed/tr. Steup,M/Sosa,E [Blackwell 2005], p.205
A Reaction
This summarises Ideas 1911, 1913 and 1914. Agrippa's Trilemma is now a standard starting point for modern discussions of foundations. Personally I reject 2, and am torn between 1 (+ social consensus) and 3 (with a benign, coherent circle).
Related Ideas
Idea 1911 Even if all known nations agree on a practice, there may be unknown nations which disagree [Sext.Empiricus]
Idea 1913 Is virtue taught, or achieved by practice, or a natural aptitude, or what? [Plato]
| 2085 | Parts and wholes are either equally knowable or equally unknowable [Plato] |
| 2091 | Without distinguishing marks, how do I know what my beliefs are about? [Plato] |
| 1671 | Sceptics say justification is an infinite regress, or it stops at the unknowable [Aristotle] |
| 8850 | Agrippa's Trilemma: justification is infinite, or ends arbitrarily, or is circular [Agrippa, by Williams,M] |
| 1816 | Sceptics say demonstration depends on self-demonstrating things, or indemonstrable things [Diog. Laertius] |
| 8840 | There are five possible responses to the problem of infinite regress in justification [Cleve] |
| 8834 | Infinitism avoids a regress, circularity or arbitrariness, by saying warrant just increases [Klein,P] |
| 2754 | Foundations are justified by non-beliefs, or circularly, or they need no justification [Dancy,J] |
| 8851 | Coherentists say that regress problems are assuming 'linear' justification [Williams,M] |
| 2731 | Justification is either unanchored (infinite or circular), or anchored (in knowledge or non-knowledge) [Audi,R] |