Antiknowledge

Antiknowledge is a term used to describe a stance or approach that questions or rejects the primacy or reliability of knowledge claims. In philosophy, it is associated with radical skepticism and anti-foundationalist critique, arguing that knowledge is either unattainable or inseparable from unjustified assumptions.

The term is not widely standardized as a formal school, but appears in discussions about epistemic limits, the sociology of knowledge, and critiques of scientific or meta-narratives. Proponents may advocate epistemic humility, the view that beliefs should be held with caution rather than as certain knowledge, or they may deny that justification can reach a secure foundation.

Antiknowledge is often contrasted with positions that defend knowledge, certainty, or objectivity. Critics argue that it can be self-defeating if taken to an absolute conclusion, since the claim to deny all knowledge must itself be justified and thus becomes a knowledge claim.

In contemporary discourse, antiknowledge may appear in discussions of information ethics, anti-knowledge movements, or literary and cultural theory, where it is used to critique the presumptions of rationality, progress, or expert authority.

See also: skepticism, epistemology, agnosticism, nihilism, anti-foundationalism, epistemic humility.