When Infinite Regresses Are Not Vicious*

Abstract

Carl Gillett claims in "Infinitism Redux? A Response toKlein," Philosophical and Phenomenological Research, 66(3),My 2003, 709-717, that my account of the structure ofjustificatory reasons--what I call "infinitism"--is subjectto a general "structural objection." Roughly, thatobjection is this: If some member in an infinite seriesgains a property by inheriting it from a previous member,there will be no way to account for the property havingarisen. I argue (1) that, even if the structural objectionwere sound, the regress proposed by infinitism is notsubject to it, and (2) that the structural objection doesnot pose a real problem for any infinite regress.