English

Adjective

epistemic ‎(not comparable)

1. Of or relating to knowledge or cognition; cognitive.
   • 1981, Martin Warner, “Review of Metaphor and Thought by Andrew Ortony”, The Modern Language Review, vol. 76, no. 2, p. 428,

     Metaphors provide epistemic access to the world via the articulation of new ideas at a stage when literal language cannot cope.

   • 2008, Paul Vincent Spade, “Medieval Theories of Obligationes”, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved 2012-07-15:

     Second, note the role of the respondent's epistemic state. It is a factor in determining the correct replies, but only when the propositum is irrelevant.

2. (rare) Of or relating to theory of knowledge (epistemology).
   • 2000, Timm Triplett, “Review of The Philosophy of Roderick M. Chisholm”, The Philosophical Review, vol. 109, no. 3, p. 452,

     Audi considers whether Chisholm might be able to incorporate into his epistemic system an internalist evidential grounding requirement.

Usage notes

Philosophers differentiate the meanings of “epistemic” and “epistemological” where, broadly, epistemic means "relating to knowledge (itself)"^[1] and epistemological means "relating to the study or theory of various aspects of knowledge"^[2].

Derived terms

• epistemic logic

Related terms

Translations

References

1. ↑ “of or relating to knowledge or the conditions for acquiring it”; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epistemic?s=t
2. ↑ "pertaining to epistemology, a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge"; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epistemological?s=t