• Philosophy -> Epistemology and Theory of Knowledge

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How does Coherentism compare against other theories of knowledge such as Foundationalism and Reliabilism?

Paula Kropach

Coherentism is a way of thinking about how we come to know things. It is different from two other ways of thinking about knowledge called Foundationalism and Reliabilism.

Foundationalism says that there are some things that we just know to be true without needing any other information. Like knowing that 2+2=4 or that I am sitting in a chair. These things are called basic beliefs. From there, we can build up more complicated ideas. But, if one of our basic beliefs is wrong, then everything we build on top of it will also be wrong.

Reliabilism says that we gain knowledge by relying on things like our senses or technology to give us information. For example, if I see a bird outside my window and I have a good pair of binoculars, then I can be pretty sure that what I am seeing is a bird. However, our senses and technology aren't always perfect, so sometimes our knowledge can be wrong.

Coherentism is a bit different. It says that we gain knowledge by seeing how different beliefs fit together coherently. So, if I believe that all birds have feathers, and I see a bird outside my window, I can infer that this bird also has feathers. If I believe that birds can fly, and I see this bird flying, then that fits with my other beliefs. This helps to make my overall beliefs more coherent, or consistent.

Coherentism does have some advantages over Foundationalism and Reliabilism. One advantage is that Coherentism can adapt to changes in our knowledge. If one of our basic beliefs changes, then we can adjust our other beliefs to fit with it. In Foundationalism, if one of our basic beliefs changes, then everything we built on top of it is wrong. Also, reliabilism can be limited by the reliability of our senses and technology.

However, Coherentism also has some disadvantages. It can be hard to know when our beliefs are coherent enough to count as knowledge. Also, sometimes people can have different sets of beliefs that are coherent for them, but they can still be wrong. Coherentism doesn't necessarily guarantee that we have the correct knowledge.

Overall, Coherentism is a way of gaining knowledge by seeing how different beliefs fit together. It is different from Foundationalism and Reliabilism, but has advantages and disadvantages just like those other two theories.