Fallibilism
Fallibilism
Fallibilism is the view that human knowledge lacks a secure and an infallible foundation. Fallibilism is associated in particular with American scientist and philosopher Charles S. Peirce (1839–1914) and Austrian-born philosopher Karl Popper (1902–1994). In its most comprehensive form the fallibilist maintains that people cannot know anything with certainty. In its more restricted forms uncertainty is attributed to a particular domain of beliefs, such as empirical or religious beliefs. What separates fallibilists from others is the confidence each gives to epistemological success in general or within a particular domain. Participants within the science/religion discussion quite frequently affirm fallibilism. Its merit seems to be that it opens up possibilities for a dialogue on more even terms than foundationalism does.
See also Falsifiability; Postfoundationalism
Bibliography
peirce, charles s. collected papers, eds. charles hartshorne, paul weiss, and arthur w. burks. cambridge, mass.: belknap press, 1931–1958.
popper, karl. conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1963.
van huyssteen, j. wentzel. the shaping of rationality: toward interdisciplinarity in theology and science. grand rapids, mich.: eerdmans, 1999.
mikael stenmark
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