Alvin Plantinga's Epistemology

Some things can be known without relying on evidence from other things we know. Those are the properly basic beliefs (PBBs). All evidence has to come from somewhere, and PBBs are where it comes from. Not just any belief can be a PBB. It has to be one we can know in some way other than through evidence from other things we know. And — surprise! — Alvin Plantinga thinks belief in G-d can be a PBB. But how do we know which things can be in the category of PBBs? Plantinga borrows from Roderick Chisholm‘s advice for figuring out something like this: First, make a nice list of beliefs we know fit into a particular category of beliefs; next, carefully look at the beliefs in that list to figure out a criterion for beliefs in that category; finally, use that criterion to see whatever other beliefs might fit into that category. Plantinga gets his list of PPBs from common-sense beliefs, drawing from Thomas Reid. Then there’s some inductive logic to get to the criterion. (Hint: It involves properly functioning faculties!) And then there’s an explanation of why Plantinga thinks Christian belief meets that criterion. It took Plantinga more than three decades and well over a thousand pages to do all this. But he eventually did it, and it’s some pretty awesome philosophy.