Answer to Question #316078 in Philosophy for Ann

Question

What is philosophical justification? Give some examples

Answer 1

Philosophical justification (also called epistemic justification) is a concept in epistemology used to describe reasons that someone holds a rationally admissible belief. Having justified beliefs is better, in some sense, than having unjustified beliefs, and determining whether a belief is justified tells us whether we should, should not, or may believe a proposition. One prominent account of justification is that a belief is justified for a person only if she has a good reason for holding it. If you were to ask me why I believe the sky is blue and I were to answer that I am just guessing or that my horoscope told me, you would likely not consider either a good reason.