Coherentism
Introduction
Coherentism is a philosophical theory in the field of epistemology that pertains to the nature and scope of knowledge. It is an alternative to the traditional foundationalist approach, which posits that knowledge and justified belief rest ultimately on a foundation of noninferential knowledge or justified belief. Instead, coherentism contends that a belief is justified if it coheres with a system of other beliefs.
Overview
Coherentism is often depicted metaphorically with the image of a web. The web represents a system of beliefs, where each belief is a node, and the connections between them are the justificatory relations. This metaphor illustrates the main idea of coherentism: no single belief holds a privileged position. Instead, the justification of a belief depends on its relations to other beliefs in the system.
Coherence Theory of Justification
The coherence theory of justification is a central aspect of coherentism. It posits that the justification of a belief depends on its coherence with a set of other beliefs, rather than its correspondence with an independent reality. This coherence can be understood in terms of logical consistency, explanatory relations, or probabilistic relations.
Coherence and Truth
Coherentism distinguishes between the concepts of truth and justification. While some philosophers argue that coherence is a criterion of truth, others contend that coherence is merely a criterion of justification. The latter view, known as moderate coherentism, maintains that a coherent system of beliefs is likely to be true, but not necessarily so.
Criticisms of Coherentism
Despite its appeal, coherentism has been subject to various criticisms. One common objection is the isolation objection, which argues that coherentism allows for the possibility of isolated systems of beliefs that are mutually coherent but disconnected from reality. Another criticism is the circularity objection, which contends that coherentism cannot avoid circular reasoning in the justification of beliefs.
Responses to Criticisms
Coherentists have proposed several responses to these criticisms. To address the isolation objection, some coherentists argue for a holistic version of coherentism, which maintains that a belief system must include beliefs about the external world. To respond to the circularity objection, coherentists often appeal to the concept of reflective equilibrium, which allows for the mutual adjustment of beliefs in light of each other.
Coherentism in Other Areas of Philosophy
Coherentism has also been applied in other areas of philosophy, such as ethics and aesthetics. In ethics, ethical coherentism posits that moral beliefs are justified by their coherence with a system of other moral beliefs. In aesthetics, aesthetic coherentism argues that aesthetic judgments are justified by their coherence with a system of other aesthetic judgments.