What the study found
The paper argues that access internalism can be made more plausible by replacing the standard knowledge-based account with one based on objectual understanding, meaning understanding of a whole subject matter. The author presents this as a way to preserve the core claim that evidence helps justify belief because a person represents their evidential situation.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the understanding view can avoid the main epistemological difficulty facing the knowledge view. They suggest this helps secure the plausibility of access internalism, the view that a person's evidence contributes to justification because they can represent their evidential situation.
What the researchers tested
This is a philosophical argument paper, not an empirical study. It separates the core claim of access internalism from its usual formulation in terms of reflective knowledge, then defends an alternative formulation in terms of objectual understanding.
What worked and what didn't
The paper claims that the psychological features of understanding align with the intuition behind access internalism. It also says the proposal is refined to answer an objection about whether understanding is sufficient and necessary for access, and that the understanding view avoids a key problem for the knowledge view.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not provide empirical evidence, only a conceptual defense. It also does not give the full details of the objection it addresses or the specific epistemological difficulty mentioned, beyond stating that these are handled in later sections.
Key points
- The paper proposes objectual understanding as an alternative to a knowledge-based account of access internalism.
- Access internalism is described as the view that evidence contributes to justification because a person represents their evidential situation.
- The author says understanding has psychological features that fit the intuition behind access internalism.
- The paper claims the understanding view can avoid the main epistemological difficulty facing the knowledge view.
- The abstract describes a conceptual argument, not an empirical test.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Understanding-based access internalism is proposed as a better fit
- Authors:
- Paweł Grad
- Institutions:
- University of Warsaw
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-03
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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