 Epistemologically, there are two significant features of Cornell realism. First, it accepts a coherence theory of justification. Second, it applies to moral epistemology the claim from the philosophy of science that observations are theory-laden. According to coherentism, beliefs are not justified individually, but holistically, in virtue of their membership in a coherent system of beliefs. Especially within ethics, a coherent system of beliefs is often referred to as being in a state of “reflective equilibrium” (see entry on  reflective equilibrium).  The term “reflective equilibrium” is also used to refer to an idealized method via which inquirers bring their moral beliefs into coherence by reflecting on their considered moral judgments and general principles intended to capture these judgments, and eliminating any conflicts that emerge by making adjustments to either the considered judgments or the general principles. Neither considered moral judgments nor general principles are always favored. What the inquirer revises in each case of conflict is determined by what seems most likely to be true to the inquirer. A number of commentators on reflective equilibrium have observed that it is a sophisticated contemporary version of intuitionism in which considered moral judgments, or more properly, the considered judgments and moral principles that seem most likely to be true, play essentially the same role in determining the moral theory eventually accepted that self-evident moral intuitions did for earlier intuitionists. Reflective equilibrium may allow for initially credible considered judgments and moral principles to be revised more than one would expect to see traditionally understood intuitions being revised, but in the end what seems to be true upon reflection determines the system of judgments and principles accepted in reflective equilibrium. Hence, one might be tempted to assume that those who accept reflective equilibrium, such as Cornell realists, are committed to a priori justification playing a significant role in moral epistemology even though what plays the role of intuitions is not assumed to be self-evident. As we will see, this temptation should be resisted.