Understanding Evidence

In epistemology, evidence is what justifies beliefs or what makes it rational to hold a certain doxastic attitude. For example, a perceptual experience of a tree may act as evidence that justifies the belief that there is a tree.

Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition, usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. The role of evidence and its conception varies from field to field, such as in epistemology and phenomenology.

In phenomenology, evidence is understood in a similar sense, limited to intuitive knowledge that provides immediate access to truth and is therefore indubitable. It is supposed to provide ultimate justifications for basic phenomenological truths.

<p>Important topics in the field of epistemology include the nature of mental states, whether they have to be propositional, and whether misleading mental states can still qualify as evidence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The difference lies in the scope of evidence. In epistemology, evidence justifies beliefs or rationalizes doxastic attitudes, while in phenomenology, evidence is limited to intuitive knowledge that provides immediate access to truth and ultimate justifications for basic phenomenological truths.</p> Signup and view all the answers