Foundationalism

In Epistemology, the Internalist position which holds a belief is epistemically justified in one of two ways:

1. If it is self-evidently true and therefore self-justifying, or
2. If it rests directly or indirectly on a terminal or foundational belief which, because of its self-evident nature, requires no further justification.

This model of Internalist justification is often characterized as linear since justification travels vertically from the foundational beliefs upward to non-terminal beliefs.