reliabilistisiä

Reliabilism is a theory in epistemology that focuses on the reliability of the process by which a belief is formed. Instead of analyzing the justification of a belief in terms of internal mental states or evidential support, reliabilism emphasizes the causal connection between the belief and the fact that it is true. A belief is considered justified, according to reliabilism, if it is produced by a cognitive process that is generally reliable, meaning it tends to produce true beliefs more often than false ones.

Different versions of reliabilism exist, but they generally agree on the importance of reliable belief-forming mechanisms. These mechanisms can include perception, memory, reasoning, and testimony. For a belief to be justified, it must be the output of a process that, under appropriate conditions, reliably leads to true beliefs. For example, if your belief that the sky is blue is formed through the process of vision, and vision is a generally reliable way of forming beliefs about colors, then your belief is considered justified by reliabilism.

Critics of reliabilism raise several challenges. One common objection is the "new evil demon" problem, which questions how a person whose beliefs are systematically produced by a deceptive demon (or a brain in a vat) could have justified beliefs, even if those beliefs are systematically true and produced by a reliable process. Another challenge concerns the identification and justification of what counts as a "reliable process." Despite these criticisms, reliabilism remains an influential theory in contemporary epistemology.