What is the infinite regress problem in skepticism?
In epistemology, the regress argument is the argument that any proposition requires a justification. However, any justification itself requires support. This means that any proposition whatsoever can be endlessly (infinitely) questioned, resulting in infinite regress.
Why is infinite regress unlikely?
Another reason for the implausibility of theories involving an infinite regress is due to the principle known as Ockham’s razor, which posits that we should avoid ontological extravagance by not multiplying entities without necessity.
Is infinite regress real?
While it’s true that an infinite regress is a logical error, not all propositions are contingent truths. Perhaps most historically significant, many philosophers have argued for the existence of an “uncaused cause” of the universe, in order to avoid an infinite regress of causal events.
What is epistemic regress problem?
The epistemic regress problem is commonly posed as an argument for skepticism: to know any proposition P we must know a proposition Q that provides evidence for P, but this requires an endless regress of known propositions—a circle or an infinite regress—so, since we cannot acquire knowledge by means of such regresses.
Can a finite being define an infinite being?
From this point on, the finite was understood to be a lower level of being, one that possessed in a limited (and therefore imperfect) way some attribute or property that Infinite Being (God) posessed in an unlimited (and therefore supremely perfect) manner.
What is the uncaused cause?
(philosophy) Since all things must come from something that causes them the uncaused cause is that one thing that began the chain of existance, often identified as God. adjective. 3. Not caused or created; self-existent. adjective.
Does infinite regress prove God?
Infinite regress does not prove God exists.
What is infinite regress and how does it relate to these arguments?
An infinite regress is a series of appropriately related elements with a first member but no last member, where each element leads to or generates the next in some sense. An infinite regress argument is an argument that makes appeal to an infinite regress.
What does infinite being mean?
God is fashioned as an infinite being, i.e. one who’s abilities have no non-logical limitations. This definition, however, leaves us in an awkward epistemological position, as it ostensibly renders all potential evidence for such a being inherently ambiguous.
Are humans finite?
All human beings begin life by being born – and all human beings die. In these two ways, we are finite: our lives are not endless, but they begin and they come to an end. Historically, however, philosophers have concentrated attention on only one of these two ways in which we are finite: mortality.
What is Aquinas’s first cause argument?
Aquinas argued that our world works in the same way. Someone or something must have caused the world to exist. The cause is God, the effect is the world. He argued that this first cause is God. God is eternal (has no beginning, was never started) and God caused the world and everything else to exist.
What’s the problem with infinite regress?
The problem of the infinite regress was a critical argument of the Skeptics in ancient philosophy. Sextus Empiricus tells us there are two basic Pyrrhonian modes or tropes that lead the skeptic to suspension of judgment (ἐποχῆ): They [skeptics] hand down also two other modes leading to suspension of judgement.
Why is infinite regress a fallacy?
The Logical Fallacy of Infinite Regress / Homunculus Argument occurs when an argument forms an endless loop of dependent premises, never reaching a premise that can stand as true on its own. If the truth of a premise P1 is proven by premise P2, and the truth of premise P2 is proven by premise P3, and this pattern continues without being resolved, this is infinite regress.
What is an infinite regress argument?
An infinite regress argument is an argument that makes appeal to an infinite regress. Usually such arguments take the form of objections to a theory, with the fact that the theory implies an infinite regress being taken to be objectionable.
What is about the infinite regress problem?
The Infinite Regress Problem is not a problem, but rather an argument offered by someone bent on remaining obstinately unconvinced by a position or conclusion that rubs them the wrong way. These arguments are no different from Slippery Slope arguments and terminate at the point in where you locate a proposition that is not contingent on another.