epistemology - Concepts

Explore concepts tagged with "epistemology"

Total concepts: 31

Concepts

Falsifiability - Karl Popper's criterion that a theory is scientific only if it makes predictions that can potentially be proven wrong by observation or experiment.
Rationalism - The philosophical view that reason is the primary source of knowledge and truth.
Epistemology - The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, sources, scope, and limits of knowledge.
Epistemic Erosion - The gradual degradation of collective knowledge quality, critical thinking capacity, and epistemic trust caused by information pollution, AI-generated content, and declining verification standards.
Epistemic Uncertainty - The uncertainty arising from lack of knowledge or information, rather than from inherent randomness or variability in the world.
Cogito Ergo Sum - Descartes' foundational philosophical proposition meaning 'I think, therefore I am,' establishing the certainty of one's own existence through the act of thinking.
Justified True Belief - The classical definition of knowledge as a belief that is both true and supported by adequate justification or evidence.
Myside Bias - The tendency to evaluate evidence, generate arguments, and test hypotheses in a way biased toward one's own prior opinions and beliefs.
Knowledge Half-Life - The time it takes for half of the knowledge in a given field to become outdated, superseded, or proven incorrect.
Calibration - The alignment between confidence in one's judgments and actual accuracy, reflecting how well subjective certainty matches objective correctness.
Consilience - When evidence from multiple independent sources converges to support the same conclusion.
Weltanschauung - A comprehensive worldview or philosophy of life that shapes how an individual or group interprets and interacts with the world.
Belief Revision - The process of changing one's beliefs when confronted with new evidence that contradicts prior assumptions.
Social Constructionism - The theory that much of what we perceive as reality is shaped and maintained through social processes, language, and shared meanings.
Evidence-Based Thinking - The disciplined practice of forming beliefs and making decisions based on the best available evidence rather than intuition, tradition, or authority.
Scout Mindset - Julia Galef's concept of approaching beliefs as a scout seeking accurate maps of reality rather than a soldier defending existing positions.
Scientific Method - A systematic process of observation, hypothesis formation, experimentation, and revision used to build reliable knowledge about the world.
Epistemic Vigilance - The cognitive capacity to evaluate the reliability, trustworthiness, and accuracy of information received from others before accepting it as knowledge.
Intellectual Honesty - The practice of seeking truth and accuracy in reasoning, being willing to change beliefs when presented with evidence, and avoiding self-deception in intellectual pursuits.
One True Proposition Affliction - Cognitive trap of believing there is only one correct answer or truth about complex matters, ignoring nuance and context.
Map is Not the Territory - Models and representations of reality are not reality itself.
Skepticism - The philosophical attitude of questioning claims and withholding judgment until sufficient evidence and reasoning are provided.
Episteme - The underlying framework of knowledge and assumptions that defines what counts as truth and valid reasoning in a given historical era.
Epistemic Rationality - The systematic pursuit of accurate beliefs through evidence, reason, and willingness to update one's views.
Scientific Fallibilism - The principle that all scientific knowledge is provisional, approximate, and subject to revision, and that no scientific theory should be treated as final, complete, or absolutely true.
Epistemic Integrity - The practice of ensuring that one's knowledge claims are genuinely grounded in personal thinking and synthesis rather than passively absorbed or misattributed external information.
Epistemic Humility - The recognition that one's knowledge is always limited, incomplete, and potentially wrong, combined with the disposition to hold beliefs lightly and remain genuinely open to revision when presented with new evidence.
Empiricism - The philosophical position that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience and observation rather than innate ideas or pure reason.
Epistemic Responsibility - The moral and intellectual obligation to form beliefs carefully, seek adequate evidence, and maintain honest practices in acquiring, holding, and sharing knowledge.
Ultracrepidarianism - Giving opinions on matters beyond one's knowledge or expertise.
Pragmatism - A philosophical tradition holding that the truth or value of an idea should be measured by its practical usefulness and real-world consequences rather than by its correspondence to abstract or objective reality.

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