Expecting an argument to be able to justify itself is unreasonable, to my mind. Nothing can justify itself; everything must be justified by referring to something else, and the references cannot be circular.
Sure, you can always reference a deeper, more fundamental set of assertions to justify any particular claim, but what justifies those? You could construct an infinite chain that way, and still not explain how “assertions you make” can be justified, because you must always assume that the latest claims are justified themselves in order for them to support everything you claimed before them.
The key, I think, is to recognize that you can justify your claims only by pointing to something outside yourself. This applies as much to the totality of humanity as it does to an individual. You can construct an argument, but what validates your ability to construct is not yourself, but something greater; no argument can be constructed that validates that thing.
“It” is empirical reality, and the justification for human claims is observation of that reality. It does not need our support to function, and its functioning is unaffected by the arguments we make. The truth points to itself.
But this is another argument and will be argued another time.
Expecting an argument to be able to justify itself is unreasonable, to my mind. Nothing can justify itself; everything must be justified by referring to something else, and the references cannot be circular.
Sure, you can always reference a deeper, more fundamental set of assertions to justify any particular claim, but what justifies those? You could construct an infinite chain that way, and still not explain how “assertions you make” can be justified, because you must always assume that the latest claims are justified themselves in order for them to support everything you claimed before them.
The key, I think, is to recognize that you can justify your claims only by pointing to something outside yourself. This applies as much to the totality of humanity as it does to an individual. You can construct an argument, but what validates your ability to construct is not yourself, but something greater; no argument can be constructed that validates that thing.
“It” is empirical reality, and the justification for human claims is observation of that reality. It does not need our support to function, and its functioning is unaffected by the arguments we make. The truth points to itself.
But this is another argument and will be argued another time.