epistemology

What it means

1. uncountableThe branch of philosophy dealing with the study of knowledge; the 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?", "How do we know it is true?", and so on.

   Some thinkers take the view that, beginning with the work of Descartes, epistemology began to replace metaphysics as the most important area of philosophy.

   1 more example

   [P]hilosophers of the time [early 20th century] were primarily concerned with epistemology and the foundations of the sciences; they often spoke as if we were separated from the real world by a screen of "representations" or "sense-data"; they tended to regard our approach to the world as one of disinterested observation.

   2014 April 12, Michael Inwood, “Martin Heidegger: The philosopher who fell for Hitler [print version: Hitler’s philosopher]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review section), London, page R10

   Synonyms: epistemics, kenlore, metaknowledge

2. countableA particular instance, version, or school thereof; a particular theory of knowledge.

   In his epistemology, Plato maintains that our knowledge of universal concepts is a kind of recollection.

   1 more example

   I believe that 'intuitionism' is usually, and rightly, taken to mean Brouwer's epistemology of mathematics, which is unrelated to the origin or content of topos theory.

   1995, Colin McLarty, “Preface”, in Elementary Categories, Elementary Toposes, →ISBN, page vii

In a sentence

Some thinkers take the view that, beginning with the work of Descartes, epistemology began to replace metaphysics as the most important area of philosophy.

Where it comes from

1. Ancient Greekἐπιστήμη“science, knowledge”
2. Englishepistemology

From Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistḗmē, “science, knowledge”), from ἐπίσταμαι (epístamai, “to know”) + -λογία (-logía, “study or logic of”), from λόγος (lógos, “speech, language”). The term was introduced into English by Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier (1808–1864).