Editing Regress argument (epistemology) (section)

===Coherentism===
Alternatively, the chain of reasoning may loop around on itself, forming a circle.  In this case, the justification of any statement is used, perhaps after a long chain of reasoning,  in justifying itself, and the argument is [[circular argument|circular]].  This is a version of [[coherentism]].

Coherentism is the belief that an idea is justified [[if and only if]] it is part of a coherent system of mutually supporting beliefs (i.e., beliefs that support each other).  In effect Coherentism denies that justification can only take the form of a chain.  Coherentism replaces the chain with a holistic web.

The most common objection to naïve Coherentism is that it relies on the idea that circular justification is acceptable.  In this view, P ultimately supports P, [[begging the question]].  Coherentists reply that it is not just P that is supporting P, but P along with the totality of the other statements in the whole system of belief.

Coherentism  accepts any belief that is part of a coherent system of beliefs.  In contrast, P can cohere with P<sub>1</sub> and P<sub>2</sub> without P, P<sub>1</sub> or P<sub>2</sub> being true.  Instead, Coherentists might say that it is very unlikely that the whole system would be both untrue and consistent, and that if some part of the system was untrue, it would almost certainly be inconsistent with some other part of the system.

A third objection is that some beliefs arise from experience and not from other beliefs.  An example is that one is looking into a room which is totally dark.  The lights turn on momentarily and one sees a white canopy bed in the room.  The belief that there is a white canopy bed in this room is based entirely on experience and not on any other belief.  Of course other possibilities exist, such as that the white canopy bed is entirely an illusion or that one is hallucinating, but the belief remains well-justified.  Coherentists might respond that the belief which supports the belief that there is a white canopy bed in this room is that one saw the bed, however briefly.  This appears to be an immediate qualifier which does not depend on other beliefs, and thus seems to prove that Coherentism is not true because beliefs can be justified by concepts other than beliefs.  But others have argued  that the experience of seeing the bed is indeed dependent on other beliefs, about what a bed, a canopy and so on, actually look like.

Another objection is that the rule demanding "coherence" in a system of ideas seems to be an unjustified belief.