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Question Could it ever be rational to come to a belief on the basis of evidence which is only accessible to oneself? I have in mind, for instance, people who claim to have arrived at a belief in god by way of some critically personal spiritual experience.

Accepted:
December 8, 2010

Comments

I think the answer to this has to be "yes". Suppose I have a sharp pain in my foot. On the basis of that experience, I form the belief that I have stepped on a nail. This belief seems to be justified (and so rational), and it is partly based on evidence available only to me (the felt quality of the pain).

The idea that religious belief might be justified on the basis of religious experience has a long history, and some---Swinburne, possibly, but I don't remember for sure---have explicitly drawn the analogy to the role experience plays in the formation of belief.

One very famous argument based on evidence only available to the self comes from Descartes... 'I think, therefore I am.' Sounds reasonable enough to me.

Question Could it ever be rational to come to a belief on the basis of evidence which is only accessible to oneself? I have in mind, for instance, people who claim to have arrived at a belief in god by way of some critically personal spiritual experience. Accepted:December 8, 2010

Question Could it ever be rational to come to a belief on the basis of evidence which is only accessible to oneself? I have in mind, for instance, people who claim to have arrived at a belief in god by way of some critically personal spiritual experience.

Accepted:
December 8, 2010