Abstract
A probabilistic regress, if benign, is characterized by the feature of fading foundations: the effect of the foundational term in a finite chain diminishes as the chain becomes longer, and completely dies away in the limit. This feature implies that in an infinite chain the justification of the target arises exclusively from the joint intermediate links; a foundation or ground is not needed. The phenomenon of fading foundations sheds light on the difference between propositional and doxastic justification, and it helps us settle the question whether justification is transmitted from one link in the chain to another, as foundationalists claim, or whether it emerges from a chain or network as a whole, as is maintained by coherentists and infinitists.
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Atkinson, D., Peijnenburg, J. (2017). Fading Foundations and the Emergence of Justification. In: Fading Foundations. Synthese Library, vol 383. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58295-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58295-5_4
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