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Carmelics
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    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that It is psychologically possible to believe a proposition while accepting that one has insufficient evidence for that proposition's truth.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Genuine belief, by its constitutive nature, involves taking a proposition to be true, which entails treating available evidence as sufficient.
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    • 2.What appears to be 'believing while doubting evidence' is better analyzed as acceptance or assumption for practical purposes, not belief proper.
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    • 3.This distinction, drawn by Cohen (1992) and Bratman, shows the claim conflates two distinct propositional attitudes under one term.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Clifford's evidentialist principle holds that the doxastic act of believing carries irreducible epistemic norms that cannot be voluntarily suspended.
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    • 2.If a subject sincerely judges their evidence insufficient, the resulting mental state fails to meet the threshold conditions that constitute belief.
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    • 3.Therefore the described psychological state is not belief but a weaker attitude such as conjecture, hope, or mere behavioral commitment.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Many beliefs have causes that do not constitute or imply an evidential grounding of their truth.
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    • 2.Beliefs may be caused by 'passional' factors such as social environment, inherited tradition, or emotional states rather than evidence.
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    • 3.A person can already hold a passionally caused belief and then use that belief in practical reasoning despite its lack of adequate evidential grounding.
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    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.