Meanings
nounepistemic circularity (countable and uncountable, plural epistemic circularities)
plural epistemic circularities
- countableepistemologyA circle of (foundational) epistemic arguments where the reliability of a device used within this circle is also proven within the circle.
- uncountableepistemologyThe quality of being such a circle.
Origin
Coined by William Alston in 1986 in his article "Epistemic Circularity".
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish episteeminen kehämäisyys
- episteeminen kehämäisyysquality
German epistemische Zirkularität
- epistemische Zirkularitätquality
Polish cyrkularność epistemologiczna
- cyrkularność epistemologicznaquality
Cite this entry
APA
epistemic circularity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epistemic%20circularity
MLA
“epistemic circularity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epistemic%20circularity. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epistemic circularity,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epistemic%20circularity.
Source: epistemic circularity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.