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How does skepticism create an infinite regress problem for justification?

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Four colored straws in a glass of water appear bent at the water's surface, visually demonstrating the refraction of light. — Epistemology The refraction (bending) of light as it passes from air into water causes an optical illusion: straws in the glass of water appear broken or bent at the water's surface.

In epistemology, skepticism creates an infinite regress problem by challenging the foundational requirements for justification. To possess knowledge, a belief must be supported by evidence or criteria. However, skeptics argue that these supporting criteria themselves require further justification, which in turn requires another layer of evidence, leading to an endless chain of reasoning known as an infinite regress.12

This problem is a central component of the five tropes formulated by the ancient Greek skeptic Agrippa. Agrippa argued that nothing is self-evident because any proposed proof is merely another proposition that requires its own demonstration, continuing ad infinitum.1

When philosophers attempt to avoid this regress, they often resort to one of two unsatisfactory alternatives:
* Arbitrary stopping: They stop the chain of justification at a point they claim is self-evident, which skeptics argue is an unproven hypothesis.12
* Circular reasoning: They attempt to justify a claim using criteria that are themselves dependent on the original claim.12

Ultimately, this skeptical challenge forces a reexamination of whether it is possible to establish indubitable foundations for human knowledge.2