Epistemologists

Epistemologists are scholars who study knowledge, its sources, and its justification. They examine what counts as knowledge, how beliefs are supported, and what can undermine certainty. Their work spans questions about perception, memory, testimony, inference, and the criteria by which beliefs are evaluated.

Central topics include theories of justification (foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism), theories of knowledge (internalism vs externalism), and responses to skepticism. They also consider the reliability of cognitive processes, the role of safety or conservatism in belief formation, and the distinction between a belief being true and it being warranted.

Contemporary epistemology has diversified into subfields such as social epistemology, which studies knowledge in communities and networks; virtue epistemology, which emphasizes intellectual character; Bayesian epistemology, which uses probabilistic methods; and naturalized epistemology, which links epistemic questions with empirical science. Epistemologists often employ thought experiments, formal models, and, in some cases, empirical research to test ideas about knowing.

Historically, epistemology traces back to ancient Greek philosophy and has been developed through medieval, early modern, and contemporary periods. Notable epistemologists include Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and more recent figures such as Edmund Gettier, Alvin Goldman, Linda Zagzebski, Laurence BonJour, and Ernest Sosa. The field continues to address questions about the boundary between knowledge and belief, as well as the social and cognitive processes that support or hinder epistemic success.