Basic beliefs (also commonly called foundational beliefs or core beliefs) are, under the
epistemological
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.
Episte ...
view called
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 Dictio ...
, the
axiom
An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...
s of a
belief system.
Categories of beliefs
Foundationalism holds that all
beliefs must be
justified in order to be known. Beliefs therefore fall into two categories:
* Beliefs that are properly basic, in that they do not depend upon justification of other beliefs, but on something outside the realm of belief (a "non-
doxastic Doxastic logic is a type of logic concerned with reasoning about beliefs.
The term ' derives from the Ancient Greek (''doxa'', "opinion, belief"), from which the English term ''doxa'' ("popular opinion or belief") is also borrowed. Typically, a ...
justification")
* Beliefs that derive from one or more basic beliefs, and therefore depend on the basic beliefs for their validity
Description
Within this basic framework of foundationalism exist a number of views regarding which types of beliefs qualify as ''properly'' basic; that is, what sorts of beliefs can be justifiably held without the justification of other beliefs.
In
classical foundationalism, beliefs are held to be properly basic if they are either
self-evident axioms, or evident to the senses (
empiricism
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
). However
Anthony Kenny
Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny (born 16 March 1931) is a British philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of Wittgenstein of whose literary esta ...
and others have argued that this is a
self-refuting idea.
* In modern foundationalism, beliefs are held to be properly basic if they were either self-evident axiom or
incorrigible
Incorrigible may refer to:
* Incorrigibility
* Incorrigible (1946 film)
* Incorrigible (1975 film)
''Incorrigible'' (French: ''L'Incorrigible'') is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève ...
. One such axiom is René Descartes's axiom, ''
Cogito ergo sum'' ("I think, therefore I am"). Incorrigible (lit. ''uncorrectable'') beliefs are those one can believe without possibly being proven wrong. Notably, the evidence of the senses is not seen as properly basic because, Descartes argued, all our sensory experience could be an illusion.
* In what
Keith Lehrer has called "fallible foundationalism", also known as "moderate foundationalism", the division between
inferential and non-inferential belief is retained, but the requirement of incorrigibility is dropped. This, it is claimed, allows the senses to resume their traditional role as the basis of non-inferential belief despite their fallibility.
* In
reformed epistemology, beliefs are held to be properly basic if they are reasonable and consistent with a sensible
world view.
Anti-foundationalism
Anti-foundationalism (also called nonfoundationalism) is any philosophy which rejects a foundationalist approach. An anti-foundationalist is one who does not believe that there is some fundamental belief or principle which is the basic ground or f ...
rejects foundationalism and denies there is some fundamental belief or principle which is the basic ground or foundation of inquiry and knowledge.
[J. Childers/G. Hentzi, ''The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism'' (1995) p. 100]
See also
*
Doxastic logic
*
First principle
*
Mental model
*
Mental representation
*
Mindset
*
Paradigm
In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field.
Etymology
''Paradigm'' comes f ...
*
Set (psychology)
*
Schema (psychology)
*
Worldview
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basic Belief
Belief
Epistemology
Foundationalism