Justification (epistemology)

Justification (also called epistemic justification) is a property of beliefs that fulfill certain norms about what a person should believe.[1][2] Epistemologists often identify justification as a component of knowledge distinguishing it from mere true opinion.[3] They study the reasons why someone holds a belief.[4] Epistemologists are concerned with various features of belief, which include the ideas of warrant (a proper justification for holding a belief), knowledge, rationality, and probability, among others.

Debates surrounding epistemic justification often involve the structure of justification, including whether there are foundational justified beliefs or whether mere coherence is sufficient for a system of beliefs to qualify as justified. Another major subject of debate is the sources of justification, which might include perceptual experience (the evidence of the senses), reason, and authoritative testimony, among others.

  1. ^ Blaauw, Martijn; Pritchard, Duncan (2005). Epistemology A-Z. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-7486-2213-9.
  2. ^ Goldman, Alvin; Bender, John (2005). "Justification, Epistemic". In Honderich, Ted (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-19-926479-7.
  3. ^ Kvanvig, Jonathan L. (2011). "Epistemic justification". In Bernecker, Sven; Pritchard, Duncan (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Epistemology. Routledge. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-1-136-88200-5.
  4. ^ "Epistemic Justification". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.