Epistemology (from the Greek epistēmē, “knowledge”) is the branch of philosophy that examines fundamental questions related to the nature of knowledge, the possibility of certainty, and cognitive processes.
More specifically
It also studies the criteria by which belief is distinguished from knowledge, and opinion from rational justification, while questioning the legitimacy of the methods employed by the sciences. Epistemology investigates the conditions under which a statement may be considered true, plausible, or falsifiable. It thus stands at the crossroads of logic, philosophy of language, and scientific methodology.
Historically, epistemology sheds light on the evolution of knowledge: how certain paradigms become dominant, how others are abandoned, and which conceptual ruptures enable new forms of rationality. It shows that knowledge is not a mere accumulation, but a complex process punctuated by revolutions and reconstructions.
Critically, epistemology guards against two pitfalls: dogmatism, which absolutizes a model of knowledge, and relativism, which denies any form of objectivity. It seeks a balance between the historical situatedness of knowledge and the demand for rational validity.
Contemporary epistemology extends its scope to cognitive science, modelling, and the sociology of science, in order to understand how psychological, social, and technical factors influence the production of knowledge. Thus, epistemology does not merely describe science: it elaborates its conditions of possibility, reveals its limits, and explores ways to surpass them.
Further reading:
– Plato, Theaetetus
– René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy
– Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery
– Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
– Gaston Bachelard, The Formation of the Scientific Mind
– Paul Feyerabend, Against Method
– Bruno Bérard, Metaphysics for Everyone (Angelico Press), trans. of Métaphysique pour tous (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2022); It. Sui sentieri della metafisica; Sp. ¿Qué es la metafísica?; De. Was ist Metaphysik?