|
Phenomenal Conservatism
In epistemology, phenomenal conservatism (PC) holds that it is reasonable to assume that things are as they appear, except when there are positive grounds for doubting this. (The term derives from the Greek word "phainomenon", meaning "appearance".) The principle was initially defended by Michael Huemer in Huemer 2001, where it was formulated as follows: *If it seems to ''S'' as if ''p'', then ''S'' thereby has at least ''prima facie'' justification for believing that ''p''. A later formulation (Huemer 2007), designed to allow the principle to encompass inferential as well as foundational justification, reads as follows: *If it seems to ''S'' that ''p'', then, in the absence of defeaters, ''S'' thereby has at least some degree of justification for believing that ''p''. Arguments for PC Phenomenal conservatism has been defended on three grounds. #First, the principle enables one to account for the justification of most, perhaps all, of the beliefs that we commonly take as ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epistemologists study the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge, epistemic justification, the rationality of belief, and various related issues. Debates in epistemology are generally clustered around four core areas: # The philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge and the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge, such as truth and justification # Potential sources of knowledge and justified belief, such as perception, reason, memory, and testimony # The structure of a body of knowledge or justified belief, including whether all justified beliefs must be derived from justified foundational beliefs or whether justification requires only a coherent set of beliefs # Philosophical skepticism, which questions the possibili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Huemer
Michael Huemer (; born 27 December 1969) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has defended ethical intuitionism, direct realism, libertarianism, veganism, and philosophical anarchism. Education and career Huemer graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and earned his Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 1998 under the supervision of Peter D. Klein. Philosophical work Huemer's book ''Ethical Intuitionism'' (2005) was reviewed in ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'', ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' and ''Mind.'' Huemer is the author of ''The Problem of Political Authority'' (2013) which argues that the modern arguments for political authority fail and that society can function properly without state coercion. In a review, philosopher Aeon J. Skoble stated that Huemer "joins the ranks of twenty-first-century philosophical defenders of an anarchist position that is rooted in a conception of the efficacy of voluntary and comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prima Facie
''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning ''at first sight'' or ''based on first impression''. The literal translation would be 'at first face' or 'at first appearance', from the feminine forms of ''primus'' ('first') and ''facies'' ('face'), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". The term ''prima facie'' is used in modern legal English (including both civil law and criminal law) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case. In common law jurisdictions, a reference to ''prima facie evidence'' denotes evidence that, unless rebutted, would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact. The term is used similarly in academic philosophy. Most legal proceedings, in most jurisdictions, require a ''prima facie'' case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling. Burde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internalism
Internalism and externalism are two opposite ways of integration of explaining various subjects in several areas of philosophy. These include human motivation, knowledge, justification, meaning, and truth. The distinction arises in many areas of debate with similar but distinct meanings. Internal–external distinction is a distinction used in philosophy to divide an ontology into two parts: an internal part concerning observation related to philosophy, and an external part concerning question related to philosophy. Internalism is the thesis that no fact about the world can provide reasons for action independently of desires and beliefs.Giuseppina D'Oro"Collingwood, psychologism and internalism,"''European Journal of Philosophy'' 12(2):163–177 (2004). Externalism is the thesis that reasons are to be identified with objective features of the world. Moral philosophy Motivation In contemporary moral philosophy, motivational internalism (or moral internalism) is the view that m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundationalism
Foundationalism concerns philosophical theories of knowledge resting upon non-inferential justified belief, or some secure foundation of certainty such as a conclusion inferred from a basis of sound premises.Simon Blackburn, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy'', 2nd (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)p 139 The main rival of the foundationalist theory of justification is the coherence theory of justification, whereby a body of knowledge, not requiring a secure foundation, can be established by the interlocking strength of its components, like a puzzle solved without prior certainty that each small region was solved correctly. Identifying the alternatives as either circular reasoning or infinite regress, and thus exhibiting the regress problem, Aristotle made foundationalism his own clear choice, positing basic beliefs underpinning others.Ted Poston"Foundationalism"(Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Descartes, the most famed foundationalist, discovered a foundation i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
