Epistemology
noun /ɪˌpɪstɪˈmɒlədʒi/ — The study of how we know what we know.
Definition
The branch of philosophy that studies the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge; the question of what it means to know something.
Beyond the definition
One of the most fundamental philosophical questions made into a word. In an age of information overload, epistemology — the discipline of asking 'how do I know this is true?' — may be the most practically urgent area of philosophy.
Origin & history
From Greek episteme 'knowledge' + logos 'study.' The systematic study of knowledge itself.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The course opened with epistemology — before tackling big questions, we had to ask what it meant to know.
Post-truth politics is fundamentally an epistemological crisis.
Good scientists are practicing epistemology every time they design an experiment.
Synonyms
theory of knowledge, philosophy of knowledge
Antonyms
dogmatism, credulity
Related words
Epistemology vs ontology
Epistemology asks how we know what we know and defines the limits of knowledge. Ontology focuses on the nature of existence and what categories of things actually exist.
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Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Examining prism in library
An adult in a library examines a glass prism with a magnifying lens, casting rainbows across a pile of old maps.
The act of investigating light through a prism to understand its structure mirrors the philosophical study of the origin, nature, and limits of knowledge itself.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration