Infinitism
Infinitism is a theory in epistemology, the branch of philosophy that treats of the possibility, nature, and means of knowledge.
It is widely agreed that a belief cannot qualify as a case of knowledge unless it is justified or warranted. A belief held without sufficient grounds is no instance of knowledge.
Such theories as foundationalism, coherentism and philosophical skepticism differ over how beliefs come to be warranted. Most philosophers, and all three of those schools, hold that an infinite regression is an insufficient or improper method of justification. If A is justified because of B, and B is justified because of C, and so forth, then either (a) the chain must end with a link that requires no independent justification (a foundation), or (b) the chain must come around in a circle in some finite number of steps (the justifies is justified by its coherence) or (c) our beliefs must not be justified after all (as skeptics believe).
But infinitism, the view for example of Peter Klein, challenges this minimal consensus. Klein regards a chain that goes on forever as a perfectly acceptable characteristic of knowledge.
External links
- (Prof. Klein's home page)
- (Prof. Klein's paper discussing both the validity and drawbacks of infinitism)
Infinitism is also a religion based upon contemplation of the Infinite. The central principles include worship of the Universe as God, due to its infinite extent, and the belief that man is in essence a physical part of God.
Infinitism is a religion based on scientific as much as religious text, and scientific texts could be considered as holy as the Bible or Q'uran to the Infinitist.
It is a wholly changeable faith in the sense that Infinitism is open to individual interpretations, and by its very nature embraces limitless possibilities (although to the Infinitist any possibility must be a certainty as any finite probability must be realised against a scale of infinity).
Infinitism started in the United Kingdom in time for the new millenium, and has a small but steadily increasing following. Due to its nature priciples and doctrine regularly evolve, but central concepts remain unaltered. Individual beliefs and practices must vary due to each Infinitist's extremely personal relationship with God.
The religious symbol of Infinitism is the lemniscate, a symbol similar to a figure 8 turned on its side that depicts a never ending cycle, and therefore represents the infinite.
Other interpretations include the image of a snake eating its own tail, which can be depicted in the style of a figure 8 or 0. Circles clearly convey meaning for the Infinitist.