5.1 Internalism and the accessibility of justification
3 min read•august 9, 2024
in epistemology says our beliefs are justified by stuff in our heads. It's all about what we can access through thinking and self-reflection. This view puts a lot of weight on our own perspective and mental states.
The accessibility thesis is a key part of internalism. It says we need to be able to know why our beliefs are justified. This idea fits with how we usually think about , but it has some tricky parts to work out.
Internalism and Accessibility
Core Principles of Internalism
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- Internalism posits for beliefs depends on factors internal to the believer's mind
- Accessibility thesis asserts justifying factors must be accessible to the believer through reflection
- Cognitive access involves the ability to become aware of justifying factors through introspection or reasoning
- Awareness requirement stipulates believers must be consciously aware of justifying factors for their beliefs
Implications of Internalist Approach
- Emphasizes the importance of subjective perspective in epistemology
- Aligns with intuitive notions of justification and responsibility for beliefs
- Challenges include accounting for unconscious or implicit justifications
- Contrasts with externalist approaches that allow for external justifying factors
Mental States and Justification
Role of Mental States in Justification
- Mental states form the basis of justification according to internalism
- Justification arises from the believer's thoughts, experiences, and reasoning processes
- Epistemic responsibility involves actively reflecting on and evaluating one's beliefs
- holds that justification supervenes on the mental states of the believer
Types of Mental States Relevant to Justification
- Beliefs serve as foundations or inferential support for other beliefs
- Perceptual experiences provide justification for beliefs about the external world
- Memories contribute to justification of beliefs about past events
- Intuitions or rational insights justify beliefs in abstract or a priori domains
Challenges to Mental State Approach
- Difficulty in accounting for beliefs justified by external factors (reliability of sources)
- Potential circularity in using beliefs to justify other beliefs
- Questions about the reliability of introspection and self-knowledge
- Debates over the nature and existence of cognitive phenomenology
Perspectives on Internalism
Varieties of Internalist Theories
- Perspectival internalism focuses on the subject's point of view in justification
- Accessibility thesis requires justifiers to be cognitively available to the subject
- Cognitive access involves the potential for awareness through reflection or reasoning
- Awareness requirement demands actual conscious awareness of justifying factors
Debates Within Internalism
- Disagreements over the degree of accessibility required for justification
- Discussions on the role of unconscious or dispositional mental states
- Controversies regarding the nature of cognitive access and its limitations
- Arguments about the relationship between justification and defeaters
Internalism in Relation to Other Epistemological Theories
- Contrasts with , which allows for justification based on external factors
- Connections to foundationalism in emphasizing basic, self-justifying beliefs
- Relationships with coherentism in focusing on internal consistency of belief systems
- Comparisons with reliabilism and its emphasis on truth-conducive processes
Key Terms to Review (16)
Accessibilism: Accessibilism is the view in epistemology that justification for a belief must be accessible to the believer, meaning that one should be able to reflect on their reasons for holding a belief and recognize them as justifying. This idea connects closely to the internalist perspective, which emphasizes that factors contributing to justification should be within the mental grasp of the individual. Accessibilism raises important questions about the nature of knowledge and belief, focusing on how individuals can obtain, evaluate, and ultimately justify their beliefs based on their accessible mental states.
Epistemic access: Epistemic access refers to the ability of a person to obtain or grasp justifications for their beliefs and knowledge claims. This concept plays a crucial role in understanding how individuals can justify their beliefs based on internal or external factors, affecting the debate between different epistemological views. The accessibility of justification raises questions about whether justification can be known from one's internal mental states or if it requires external verification.
Externalism: Externalism is a theory in epistemology that asserts that the justification of a belief can depend on factors outside an individual's mental states or access to information. This approach highlights the role of external factors, such as social context, environmental influences, and the reliability of the belief-forming processes, in determining whether a belief is justified or constitutes knowledge.
Foundational evidence: Foundational evidence refers to the basic, underlying information or justification that supports a belief or claim. It is crucial in the context of how knowledge is acquired and justified, particularly in discussions about what counts as valid reasons for belief and how accessible those reasons are to individuals.
Internalism: Internalism is a position in epistemology that asserts that the justification for a belief must be accessible to the believer's own consciousness. This means that the reasons and evidence that support a belief must be within the individual's mental grasp, emphasizing the internal aspects of justification over external factors.
Justification: Justification is the process of providing adequate reasons or evidence to support a belief or claim, making it rationally acceptable. It plays a crucial role in determining the validity of knowledge, influencing how we understand foundational beliefs, the regress problem, and theories of knowledge.
Knowledge: Knowledge is a justified true belief, often considered the foundation of epistemology, which investigates the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge. It involves not just having a belief and it being true, but also having justification or reasons for that belief. This relationship is crucial for understanding how we acquire knowledge and the role of justification in what we consider to be true or credible.
Laurence Bonjour: Laurence Bonjour is a prominent philosopher known for his contributions to epistemology, particularly in the areas of internalism and the accessibility of justification. He argues that for a belief to be justified, the justifying reasons must be internally accessible to the believer. This perspective emphasizes that justification is determined by factors within a person's cognitive perspective rather than external conditions.
Mentalism: Mentalism is the epistemological view that emphasizes the importance of mental states and processes in understanding knowledge and justification. It argues that knowledge is primarily determined by what is accessible to the individual's mind, including beliefs, experiences, and reasons, rather than external factors. This perspective plays a crucial role in discussions about how justification functions in relation to knowledge and highlights the internal access individuals have to their own justification.
Reflective endorsement: Reflective endorsement is the process through which an individual consciously affirms their beliefs or attitudes after considering them, often involving a level of self-reflection and justification. This concept highlights the importance of not just having beliefs, but actively evaluating and supporting them, which ties into the broader understanding of how justification can be perceived as accessible to individuals when they reflect on their reasons for belief.
Richard Feldman: Richard Feldman is a prominent philosopher known for his work in epistemology, particularly focusing on the concepts of internalism and externalism regarding justification. He argues that the accessibility of justification is crucial to understanding how beliefs are justified and emphasizes that justification must be internally accessible to the believer, meaning that individuals should have the necessary reasons for their beliefs available to them.
Strong internalism: Strong internalism is the view in epistemology that justification for a belief must be entirely accessible to the believer's consciousness, meaning that all factors contributing to the justification must be known and available to the person holding the belief. This position emphasizes that a person's mental states, such as beliefs, experiences, and reasoning processes, are crucial for determining whether a belief is justified, focusing on the subjective aspects of justification rather than external factors.
Testimony: Testimony refers to the act of providing information or knowledge through verbal or written statements, typically from an individual who claims to have experienced or witnessed something. It plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding and acquisition of knowledge, connecting personal experiences with broader claims about the world, and influencing how we justify beliefs and knowledge.
The problem of easy knowledge: The problem of easy knowledge refers to the challenge in epistemology regarding the acquisition of knowledge through seemingly trivial or insufficiently rigorous means. This concept raises questions about whether one can genuinely know something based solely on evidence that is too easily obtainable, thereby undermining the traditional standards for what constitutes justified true belief. It highlights concerns about whether knowledge can be obtained without a significant level of cognitive effort or deeper justification, particularly in light of Gettier cases that reveal flaws in previous definitions of knowledge.
The regress problem: The regress problem is a philosophical issue concerning the nature of justification in knowledge claims, particularly how reasons for beliefs can lead to an infinite series of justifications. This problem raises questions about whether every belief requires a supporting reason, and if so, what happens when one needs to provide reasons for those reasons, leading to an endless regress or a stopping point in justification.
Weak internalism: Weak internalism is the view in epistemology that holds that for a belief to be justified, the individual must have some access to the reasons or justifications for that belief, even if those reasons do not need to be fully articulated or consciously available. This perspective emphasizes that while justification relies on internal factors, it allows for some degree of external influence in the shaping of beliefs.