Reflective Equilibrium and Coherentism

The method of justifying moral views by mutually adjusting particular judgements and general principles until they cohere.

Definition

Reflective equilibrium is a coherentist method of moral justification in which one revises particular moral judgements, general principles, and relevant background theories against one another until they form a maximally coherent and mutually supporting system.

Scope

This topic covers reflective equilibrium as the leading coherentist method in moral epistemology. It traces the method from Goodman's account of justifying inductive rules through Rawls's application to moral and political theory and Daniels's distinction between narrow and wide reflective equilibrium, and it examines objections that coherence among possibly biased starting points cannot confer genuine justification.

Core questions

• How does coherence among judgements and principles confer justification?
• What is the difference between narrow and wide reflective equilibrium?
• Does the method merely systematize prejudices, or can it correct them?
• Is moral justification ultimately coherentist rather than foundationalist?

Key concepts

• considered judgements
• coherence
• narrow vs. wide equilibrium
• the method of cases
• background theories

Key theories

Reflective equilibrium

Justification in ethics is achieved by working back and forth between considered judgements and candidate principles, revising each in light of the other until they reach a stable, coherent fit.

Wide reflective equilibrium

Daniels extended the method to include relevant background theories (of the person, society, the role of morality), aiming to answer the charge that mere coherence among intuitions is uncritical.

History

The structure of the method derives from Goodman's 1955 account of justifying rules of inference by mutual adjustment with accepted inferences. Rawls named and applied reflective equilibrium in A Theory of Justice (1971), and Daniels (1979) developed the wide version, which became the standard model of moral methodology.

Debates

The garbage-in, garbage-out objection

Critics argue that coherence among possibly biased or culturally contingent considered judgements cannot generate genuine justification; defenders appeal to wide equilibrium and the revisability of any starting judgement.

Coherentism versus foundationalism

Reflective equilibrium embodies a coherentist epistemology that contrasts with intuitionist foundationalism; debate concerns whether some considered judgements have independent credibility prior to coherence.

Key figures

• John Rawls
• Norman Daniels
• Nelson Goodman

Seminal works

• goodman1955
• rawls1971
• daniels1979

Frequently asked questions

Is reflective equilibrium only used in political philosophy?

No. Although Rawls applied it famously to justice, reflective equilibrium is now treated as a general method of moral justification and is widely used across normative ethics and applied ethics.