The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge—what it is, how we get it, and how we can tell if something is really true. It asks questions like 'How do you know what you think you know?'
From Greek *epistēmē* meaning 'knowledge' and *-logia* meaning 'study of'. The term became common in modern philosophy to separate the study of knowledge from other areas like ethics or metaphysics.
Epistemology is like a 'debugging system' for your own beliefs. It forces you to notice that seeing, remembering, or reading something doesn’t automatically make it true. Once you start thinking this way, even everyday claims like 'everyone says that' start to look suspicious.
Epistemology, the study of knowledge, has historically centered male, Western perspectives on who counts as a knower and what counts as knowledge. Feminist epistemology has critiqued how women’s and marginalized groups’ knowledge has been dismissed or devalued.
When using “epistemology,” be open to diverse epistemic traditions, including feminist, Indigenous, and non-Western approaches. Acknowledge that social position, including gender, can shape what knowledge is produced and recognized.
["theory of knowledge","study of how we know things"]
Women philosophers and theorists in feminist epistemology have exposed biases in traditional accounts of knowledge and advanced concepts like situated knowledge and epistemic injustice.
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