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Article
Justified Belief and the Infinite Regress Argument
American Philosophical Quarterly
  • John N. WILLIAMS, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-1981
Abstract

The background to this paper is the question of how rational belief is possible in the light of the commonly presented infinite regress in reasons. The paper investigates the neglected question of whether this regress is vicious. I argue that given the genuine requirements of rational belief, the regress would require the rational believer to hold an infinity of beliefs, which is impossible. The regress would not entail the rational believer holding an infinitely complex belief, which, admittedly, would be logically impossible.

Discipline
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20013895
Citation Information
John N. WILLIAMS. "Justified Belief and the Infinite Regress Argument" American Philosophical Quarterly Vol. 18 Iss. 1 (1981) p. 85 - 88 ISSN: 0003-0481
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_williams/4/