RQ1 - John Koscho
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Augusta University *
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2010
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Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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docx
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RQ1: Intro Essay: Ch 2: “Is it Reasonable to Believe Without
Evidence?” (63-68)
1.
What is a properly basic belief?
a.
A properly basic belief is some sort of belief that has been universally accepted by people in a society to the point where nobody should question if
it is incorrect.
b. An example of properly basic belief would be practically any main religion like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism.
2. What is radical skepticism?
a. “
The view that is never reasonable to believe anything. But radical skepticism is very hard to believe” (55).
b. Radical skepticism is an extreme concept where someone could question a basic and known principle to the point where radical skepticism will eventually fail. (For example, questioning why cells are the basic building blocks for life).
3. When is a belief properly basic according to some philosophers?
a.
“Some philosophers have held that a belief is properly basic only if its denial is somehow unthinkable…” (56)
b.
This quote perfectly underlines the main point of properly basic beliefs, because it is a belief that is widely accepted by many people. 4. What is an epistemically rational belief vs. a practically rational
belief?
a.
Epistemically rational beliefs are beliefs that go deep into
the way the world is constructed and built up. (Beliefs)
b.
Rational beliefs are similar, but they are used more-so to deal with what someone should do.
5. What, according to William James, makes questions about the
existence of God different from other questions that cannot be settled on the basis of the available evidence?
a. “When it comes to the existence of God, however, the question is both forced and momentous. It is forced because at
every moment we must choose either belief or unbelief” (58).
b. This quote explains why William James thinks that the existence of God is so different than other questions- because it is both “forced” and “momentous.” 6. According to James, what kind of answer to such a question should
you believe?
a.
“James is arguing that it may be both practically and theoretically rational to believe what one cannot prove” (58).
b.
James is saying that it would be rational to believe in something that nobody else can prove because of its values.
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