The branch of philosophy dealing with the study of knowledge; theory of knowledge, asking such questions as "What is knowledge?", "How is knowledge acquired?", "What do people know?", "How do we know what we know?"
Some thinkers take the view that, beginning with the work of Descartes, epistemology began to replace metaphysics as the most important area of philosophy.
The study of how we know what we know, how creatures or groups of creatures, including humans, from families to cultures, societies and the global living system, think, and decide It reveals the premises underlying outer behaviour and inner thinking These premises may be based on the history of society and the individual, and they set filters which allow or limit the passage of new information of difference into the mind Sub-systems such as an individual, or a family may have a particular epistemology Systems such as an extended family, culture or society may have a dominant epistemology, and the greater system of interconnected life has a number of epistemology's The dominant epistemology of the West is still based on Cartesian mind-body dualism, although some thinkers perceive this to be in error They believe it to be a major contribution to the present imbalance and damage to the greater system of life on earth
From the Greek, knowledge Branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge In theology, the question of how finite beings can have knowledge of the infinite is an epistemological question
From the Greek terms episteme(knowledge) and logos(theory, account); the study of the origins, nature, and limitations of knowledge--that is, how we know what we know It is possible to see epistemology as dominated by two rival metaphors: one is that of a building or pyramid, built on foundations; the other is that of a boat, which has no foundation but owes its strength to the stability given by its interlocking parts
Study of the origin, nature, and limits of human knowledge. Nearly every great philosopher has contributed to the epistemological literature. Some historically important issues in epistemology are: (1) whether knowledge of any kind is possible, and if so what kind; (2) whether some human knowledge is innate (i.e., present, in some sense, at birth) or whether instead all significant knowledge is acquired through experience (see empiricism; rationalism); (3) whether knowledge is inherently a mental state (see behaviourism); (4) whether certainty is a form of knowledge; and (5) whether the primary task of epistemology is to provide justifications for broad categories of knowledge claim or merely to describe what kinds of things are known and how that knowledge is acquired. Issues related to (1) arise in the consideration of skepticism, radical versions of which challenge the possibility of knowledge of matters of fact, knowledge of an external world, and knowledge of the existence and natures of other minds
(Greek episteme, "knowledge"; logos, "theory"), branch of philosophy that addresses the philosophical problems surrounding the theory of knowledge Epistemology is concerned with the definition of knowledge and related concepts, the sources and criteria of knowledge, the kinds of knowledge possible and the degree to which each is certain, and the exact relation between the one who knows and the object known
Traditionally, the theory of knowledge Ansering the question: what kinds of knowledge can we have of the external world of objects, of minds other than our own, of mathematical objects, and so on
One of the principal branches of philosophy, epistemology is the theory of knowledge Its subject matter includes the role of sense perception in the acquisition of knowledge, the possibility of attaining objective knowledge, the psychological aspects of knowledge, and on some accounts the sociological aspects of knowledge (The adjectival forms are "epistemic" and "epistemological" )
Strictly speaking, refers to philosophies or theories of the nature of knowledge In social science, epistemology often refers to how individuals perceive "truth," and the social processes by which knowledge is constructed and accepted as "true "
The theory of knowledge or branch of philosophy that studies how knowledge is gained, how much we can know, and what justification there is for what is known
The branch of philosophy which investigates the origin, nature, methods and limits of human knowing [The American College Dictionary]
epıstemologıcal
Hyphenation
e·pis·te·mo·lo·gi·cal
Etymology
[ i-"pis-t&-'mä-l&- ] (noun.) circa 1856. Greek epistEmE knowledge, from epistanai to understand, know, from epi- + histanai to cause to stand; more at STAND.