Weak bayesian coherentism

Michael Huemer

pp. 337-346

in: Erik J. Olsson (ed), Coherence and truth, Synthese 157 (3), 2007.

Abstract

Recent results in probability theory have cast doubt on coherentism, purportedly showing (a) that coherence among a set of beliefs cannot raise their probability unless individual beliefs have some independent credibility, and (b) that no possible measure of coherence makes coherence generally probability-enhancing. I argue that coherentists can reject assumptions on which these theorems depend, and I derive a general condition under which the concurrence of two information sources lacking individual credibility can raise the probability of what they report.