ABSTRACT
Rene Descartes was very much aware of the fact that the epistemic intuitions on which we tend to base our knowledge claims are not only fallible but far too often false. Descartes went so far as to try and derive his whole body of knowledge from grounds that were logically indubitable. Descartes’ proposal did however provide supporters of the Enlightenment project with an important clue to the nature of dependable foundations for the edifice of knowledge. The Enlightenment project, and especially its foundationalism, has come under increasing criticism. Scientific theories need to be justified by intersubjective rational criteria, and sophisticated methods of scientific enquiry have been developed and refined to do just that. Thus scientists tend to develop explanatory theories that generate hypotheses that in turn can be tested in the light of inter-subjective empirical experience. The foundationalism of the Enlightenment project determines the kind of rationality it requires from religious belief.
