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Philosophy vocabulary · Epistemology

Epistemology

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

/ɪˌpɪstəˈmɒlədʒi/nounCore term

In philosophy, epistemology means: The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge: what it is, how we get it, how beliefs are justified and how far our knowledge can reach.

In Turkish: epistemoloji, bilgi felsefesi, bilgi kuramı

How it is used

Common in course titles and in the opening lines of papers. In current work the adjective epistemic (epistemic justification, epistemic duty) is used more often than epistemological.

Example sentences

  1. Descartes' Meditations are a classic starting point for a course in epistemology.

  2. Social epistemology asks how we gain knowledge from other people's testimony.

Common collocations

  • social epistemology
  • virtue epistemology
  • feminist epistemology
  • epistemic justification
  • knowledgeKnowing that something is the case; traditionally defined as a belief that is true and properly justified, although this definition is disputed.
  • beliefA mental state of taking something to be true, whether or not it really is true and whether or not you have good reasons for it.
  • justificationThe reasons or evidence that make it rational to hold a belief, or the property a belief has when it is properly supported.
  • skepticismThe view that we do not or cannot have knowledge in some area, or the method of doubting claims until they are properly justified.

More terms: Epistemology

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