Knowra Reformed epistemology Reformed epistemology A philosophical approach holding that belief in God can be rational and warranted without inference from evidence or argument, much like other basic beliefs.
Properly basic belief : A belief rationally held without being inferred from other beliefs. Reformed epistemology treats belief in God as potentially warranted in this way.
Alvin Plantinga : An American philosopher known for work in epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. He developed the best-known contemporary defense of reformed epistemology.
Evidentialism : The view that belief is rational only when supported by adequate evidence. Reformed epistemology denies that every rational belief, including theistic belief, needs evidential support.
Warranted Christian Belief : Alvin Plantinga's account of how Christian belief could have warrant if Christianity is true. The book extends reformed epistemology from belief in God to specifically Christian belief.
Proper function : The functioning of a cognitive faculty according to the conditions and purpose for which it was designed. Plantinga's account makes proper cognitive function central to religious warrant.
Warrant : The property that, when added to true belief, is sufficient for knowledge. The approach explains how theistic belief might possess warrant without evidential inference.
Nicholas Wolterstorff : An American philosopher whose work spans epistemology, aesthetics, and political philosophy. His account of religious belief helped establish the approach alongside Plantinga's.
Classical foundationalism : An epistemological view that permits only self-evident, incorrigible, or evident-to-the-senses beliefs as foundations. Plantinga argues its strict standards wrongly exclude ordinary and religious basic beliefs.
Religious experience : An experience interpreted as an encounter with, or awareness of, a divine reality. Such experiences can prompt properly basic religious beliefs within the account.
Epistemic circularity : Reasoning that relies on the reliability of the very source whose reliability it seeks to establish. Critics ask whether the proposed faculty's reliability can be defended without circularity.
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