Episteme 16 (1):108-118 (
2019)
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Abstract
Infinitism, in contrast to foundationalism and coherentism, claims that justification
in any proposition requires the availability of an infinite chain of propositional reasons, each providing a justificatory reason for its successor in the chain. Both infinitists and some critics of the theory have at times noted the possibility that the
theory may have sceptical consequences for doxastic justification. It is argued
here that, for reasons that appear not to have been previously appreciated, sceptical
results very definitely do follow from infinitism. On one construal of infinitism,
this constitutes a reductio of the theory. On an alternative construal, infinitists may embrace the sceptical conclusion, but in doing so, will take on all the problems that scepticism faces.