The Idea
This claim indicates that grounding consists in linking judgments to foundations regarded as establishing them. A judgment is not left suspended; rather, an effort is made to ascribe it to a reference that grants it legitimacy and acceptance. Yet this linkage is not merely a simple joining of a judgment and a foundation; it is also an act of interpretation that determines which foundation is relied upon and which meaning is extracted from it.
Concise Formulation
Grounding: links judgments to foundations
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim serves the book’s argument by revealing how legitimacy is constructed within intellectual and religious discourse. Grounding does not only work to stabilize a judgment; it also presents it as issuing from a foundation that precedes it. The book thus shows that the debate does not revolve around conclusions alone, but around the way they are produced and justified.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim lies in the fact that it explains to the reader how epistemic authority is produced. Linking judgments to foundations gives them a special force, but it may also conceal the role of selection and interpretation. This statement therefore helps in understanding Arkoun’s critique of the simplicity with which judgments are attributed to their foundations, as though those foundations were self-evident.
Reading Questions
- What is the difference between relying on a foundation and using a foundation to stabilize a prior judgment?
- How does grounding reveal a relationship between interpretation and authority?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.
Brief Evidence Passage
This claim indicates that grounding consists in ascribing judgments to foundations regarded as establishing them. A judgment is not left without a reference; rather, it is linked to what grants it legitimacy and acceptance. Yet this linkage also remains an act of interpretation, since it determines which foundation is relied upon and which meaning is extracted from it.