I address the worry that reflective equilibrium is too weak as an account of justification because it fails to let differing views converge. I take up informal aspects of convergence and operationalise them in a formal model of reflective equilibrium. This allows for exploration by the means of computer simulation. Findings show that the formal model does not yield unique outputs, but still boosts agreement. I conclude from this that reflective equilibrium is best seen as a pluralist account of justification (...) that cannot be accused of resulting in an “anything goes” relativism. (shrink)

In philosophy, and especially in ethics, reflective equilibrium (RE) is often considered a powerful method for obtaining beliefs that mutually support each other, are justified by evidence, and are backed by good reasons. Beisbart, Betz, and Brun (2021) have introduced a formal model of reflective equilibrium based on the theory of dialectical structures Betz (2013), which they use as a methodological tool to understand the method of reflective equilibrium better. This report is an outcome of the research project 'How far (...) does Reflective Equilibrium Take us? Investigating the Power of a Philosophical Method' and summarizes the findings of assessing the model thoroughly by numerical investigation. We simulate RE processes for a broad spectrum of model parameters and initial conditions and use four different model variants (including the original model). We analyze the dependence of simulation results on different parameters and assess the models' conduciveness towards consistency, and ability to reach global optima and full RE states. The results show that the models' behavior depends crucially on the specifics of the simulation setup. We can, therefore, not draw any general conclusions about the overall performance of the model variants. Rather, the specifics of the context in which an RE model is used must be considered to choose a specific model. Finally, we identify some critical knowledge gaps we cannot close with this report that call for further research into RE modelling. (shrink)

This article brings together two different topics: reflective equilibrium (RE) and belief revision theory (BRT). RE is a popular method of justification in many areas of philosophy, it involves a process of mutual adjustments striving for a state of coherence, but it lacks formally rigorous elaborations and faces severe criticism. To elucidate core elements of RE and provide a solid basis to address objections, a formal model of RE within BRT is presented. A fruitful starting point to the formalization of (...) RE is Olsson’s coherentist interpretation of semi-revision, but it does not come with a comparative notion of stability. This paper develops an account of comparative stability in an RE setting for belief changing operations. The operations are useful to characterize RE states as well as processes, and they are shown to satisfy postulates of rational belief change. (shrink)