Direct Doxastic voluntarism

Direct Doxastic Voluntarism claims that all or some of the states associated with our beliefs, that is, the formation, maintenance, justification, and suspension of our judgments, are under our direct voluntary control. The followers of this view emphasize the important role of the will according to their own intellectual principles and in a way insist on the agent’s activity from an epistemological point of view. The present study, while analyzing the views of some epistemologists who believe Direct Doxastic Voluntarism seeks to answer the question of whether our beliefs and judgments are formed under the direct control of the will. Evaluating Direct Doxastic Voluntarism shows that although this approach is not very justified, due to the extreme role of the will for the formation of all kinds of beliefs, and confirmation and suspension of judgment. This has led to a global version of this thesis that may not be acceptable for most epistemologists. Yet by limiting its scope, it can be defended about some beliefs because of its compatibility with individuals’ cognitive experiences. By accepting a less global version of this doctrine, the present article examines the views of some direct voluntariors while denying the extreme scope of the will and emphasizes its position and reasonable role in the subject.