Foundationalism

Starting especially with Descartes and running through Locke, Hume, and Kant, discovering and articulating a foundationalist account of knowledge—with the particular goal of putting scientific knowledge on a firm foundation—was a central element of the Enlightenment project. Explain what this means, illustrate it with examples from each of these authors, and evaluate their competing arguments.

What lessons should we draw from their efforts? In light of their efforts, what sort of foundation, if any, can be found for science? Does science need the sort of firm foundation these authors were looking for?