epistemology

IPA/ɪˌpɪstəˈmɒlədʒi/
KK[ɛpˌɪstəmˈɑlədʒˌi]IPA/ɪˌpɪstəˈmɑːlədʒi/

epistemology — noun

1. the branch of philosophy that asks what counts as knowledge, how beliefs gain su

1.nounC2
Definition

the branch of philosophy that asks what counts as knowledge, how beliefs gain support, and what people can truly know.

Example

In Professor Lin's class, Gabriela chose epistemology for her final paper.

choose epistemology for a paper

The lecture on epistemology asked how people can know a fact is true.

question pattern: know a fact is true

Common collocations
  • study epistemology
  • book on epistemology
  • epistemology class
  • questions in epistemology
Synonyms
  • theory of knowledge

    a plain-English label for the same field, often used when explaining the term

  • study of knowledge

    a descriptive phrase rather than a fixed technical name

  • epistemics

    a more specialist term, often used in technical or formal discussion

Grammar Patterns

study epistemology

book on epistemology

questions in epistemology

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when naming the field itself, so people study epistemology rather than study an epistemology. In academic writing, a countable use can describe a particular theory of knowledge, such as a feminist epistemology.

Common Mistakes

I am taking an epistemology this term.
I am taking an epistemology course this term.
epistemology names the field itself; the class is a course.

Word family

  • epistemic
    adjectiveC2
  • epistemological
    adjectiveC2
  • epistemically
    adverbC2
  • epistemologist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Epistemology focuses on knowledge: what it is, how beliefs become justified, and when doubt is reasonable. Ontology asks a different question, because it studies what exists in the world, such as objects, events, or properties. Metaphysics is broader than both, covering large questions about reality, cause, time, and possibility; epistemology is one major area inside that wider field. Logic is different again: it tests whether an argument follows valid steps, not whether the starting beliefs are true. For example, a student of epistemology may ask how we know a witness is reliable, while a student of logic asks whether the witness's conclusion follows from the evidence.

epistemology ↗ontologymetaphysics ↗logic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • epistemology class
  • epistemology seminar
  • epistemology paper

Phrases

  • study epistemology
  • work in epistemology

Prepositions

  • on — a book on epistemology
  • in — questions in epistemology

Etymology

GreekEnglish

The word epistemology was formed from Greek episteme, meaning 'knowledge', and logos, meaning 'study', 'account', or 'reason'. Modern scholars combined these parts to name the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge and justified belief. English adopted the term as philosophy became more specialized in the nineteenth century.

First known use

1856

1856, in the meaning defined above