Basic belief


Basic beliefs are, under the epistemological view called foundationalism, the axioms of a belief system.

Categories of beliefs

Foundationalism holds that all beliefs must be justified in order to be believed. Beliefs therefore fall into two categories:
Within this basic framework of foundationalism exist a number of views regarding which types of beliefs qualify as properly basic; that is, what sorts of beliefs can be justifiably held without the justification of other beliefs.
In, beliefs are held to be properly basic if they are either self-evident axioms, or evident to the senses. However Anthony Kenny and others have argued that this is a self-refuting idea.
Anti-foundationalism rejects foundationalism and denies there is some fundamental belief or principle which is the basic ground or foundation of inquiry and knowledge.