Definitions for foundationalism
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1. foundationalismnoun

   The doctrine that beliefs derive justification from certain basic beliefs

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1. Foundationalism

   Foundationalism concerns philosophical theories of knowledge resting upon non-inferential justified belief, or some secure foundation of certainty such as a conclusion inferred from a basis of sound premises. The main rival of the foundationalist theory of justification is the coherence theory of justification, whereby a body of knowledge, not requiring a secure foundation, can be established by the interlocking strength of its components, like a puzzle solved without prior certainty that each small region was solved correctly.Identifying the alternatives as either circular reasoning or infinite regress, and thus exhibiting the regress problem, Aristotle made foundationalism his own clear choice, positing basic beliefs underpinning others. Descartes, the most famed foundationalist, discovered a foundation in the fact of his own existence and in the "clear and distinct" ideas of reason, whereas Locke found a foundation in experience. Differing foundations may reflect differing epistemological emphases—empiricists emphasizing experience, rationalists emphasizing reason—but may blend both.In the 1930s, debate over foundationalism revived. Whereas Moritz Schlick viewed scientific knowledge like a pyramid where a special class of statements does not require verification through other beliefs and serves as a foundation, Otto Neurath argued that scientific knowledge lacks an ultimate foundation and acts like a raft. In the 1950s, foundationalism fell into decline – largely due to the influence of Willard Van Orman Quine, whose ontological relativity found any belief networked to one's beliefs on all of reality, while auxiliary beliefs somewhere in the vast network are readily modified to protect desired beliefs. Classically, foundationalism had posited infallibility of basic beliefs and deductive reasoning between beliefs—a strong foundationalism. Around 1975, weak foundationalism emerged. Thus recent foundationalists have variously allowed fallible basic beliefs, and inductive reasoning between them, either by enumerative induction or by inference to the best explanation. And whereas internalists require cognitive access to justificatory means, externalists find justification without such access.

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1. Foundationalism

   In philosophy, foundationalism is an epistemological theory which holds that basic beliefs exist and are the foundation for all other justified beliefs. The theory rests on the assumption that beliefs must be justified by other beliefs. This creates a regress problem, as each belief used as justification must itself be justified, creating an infinite regression of justification in which no beliefs are justified. Foundationalism intends to avoid this problem by positing basic beliefs: these beliefs can justify other beliefs but do not need to be justified themselves so can serve as foundations to knowledge. Classical foundationalism holds that these basic beliefs must be infallible, and that justification may only consist of deductive reasoning from one belief to the next. More recently, modest foundationalists have in various ways allowed basic beliefs to be fallible, and inductive reasoning between beliefs, to be sufficient for justification. Both internalists and externalists have proposed foundationalist theories; internalists require that a person have cognitive access to the means of justification for a belief to be justified while externalists allow a belief to be justified without such access.

How to pronounce foundationalism?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of foundationalism in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of foundationalism in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

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References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Foundationalism
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundationalism
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=foundationalism