maandag 11 maart 2013

what is a web of belief?

The phrase comes from W.V. Quine. The web of belief refers to how the totality of a person's beliefs interconnected and form a single coherent view of reality. Each of us has a web of belief in that our beliefs are interconnected and rely on each other.

This interconnectedness, however, is merely an approximation---people can and do have contradictory beliefs sometimes. The serious thinker is the one who is capable of modifying his beliefs when such contradictions arise. To this effect, Quine claims that each of our beliefs is revisable.

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