Erica
10
John Locke was an empiricist and a foundationalist. He claimed that people have an obligation to believe only that which is justified. For him, as a coherent of foundationalism, more complex “non-basic” beliefs must be justified by “basic beliefs”. Basic beliefs are, according to foundationalism, irrefutable and do not require justification.
Until Sellars’ contribution, most philosophers were foundationalists. Foundationalism is the epistemological school of thought in which complex non-basic beliefs can be justified by basic beliefs- beliefs which do not require justification. However, Sellars denied that basic beliefs exist. He claimed it is myth that knowledge can be simply “given” and not require justification by other facets of one’s knowledge. He claimed that beliefs originate from history and culture.
Through his criticism of the aforementioned “Myth of Given”, Wilfrid Sellars developed coherentism. Rather than the linear belief system which a foundationalists embraced, Sellars proposed that belief systems should be circular or web-like. Beliefs must be justified; however, justification cannot come from non-basic beliefs. Rather, each belief coheres with one another creating a self-reinforcing a belief system. If a new belief does not fit into one’s belief system, the belief must be reject or the entire belief system must be modified to suit the new belief.
John Locke
About
Date of Birth: August 29, 1632
Date of Death: October 28, 1704
Country of Origin:
England
Studied at: University of Oxford
About
Date of Birth:
May 20, 1912
Date of Death:
July 2, 1989
Country of Origin:
United States
Studied at: University of Michigan
Wilfrid Sellars