epistemology
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistēmē, “science, knowledge”), from ἐπίσταμαι (epistamai, “I know”) + -λογία (logia, “discourse”), from λέγω (legō, “I speak”). The term was introduced into English by the Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier (1808-1864).
Pronunciation
Noun
epistemology (plural epistemologies)
- (uncountable) 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.
- (countable) A particular theory of knowledge.
- In his epistemology, Plato maintains that our knowledge of universal concepts is a kind of recollection.
Related terms
Translations
branch of philosophy dealing with the study of knowledge
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particular theory of knowledge
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External links
- epistemology in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- epistemology in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- epistemology at OneLook Dictionary Search