infallibility

Infallibility is the quality of being incapable of making mistakes or being wrong under specified conditions or within a given domain. The term comes from Latin infallibilis, 'not able to err'. In general usage it describes sources, methods, or authorities regarded as unquestionable within a context, though in most modern discourse infallibility is acknowledged as relative and provisional rather than absolute.

In philosophy and epistemology, infallibility is discussed as an ideal or theoretical property of a belief-forming process or justification system. Some positions, such as fallibilism, deny that any belief is immune to error, while others speak of infallible procedures (for example, logical deduction from certain axioms, or mathematical proofs within a formal system). Most epistemologists treat practical inquiry as fallible in principle, requiring ongoing testing and revision.

In religion, infallibility is most associated with Catholic doctrine on papal infallibility, formulated at the First Vatican Council in 1870. It holds that the pope is preserved from error when proclaiming ex cathedra on faith or morals. The doctrine specifies limits and does not claim papal impeccability or infallibility for all papal acts, ecumenical councils, or sacred scripture for all readers.

In science and law, calls for infallibility are rare; science emphasizes provisional knowledge and self-correcting methods, while legal and constitutional authorities argue for reliability and tested procedures rather than absolute certainty.

Overall, infallibility denotes not an absolute absence of error, but a status attributed to a source, method, or pronouncement within a defined domain, subject to interpretation and critique.