Akademik

Term due to Quine for the enterprise of studying the actual formation of knowledge by human beings, without aspiring to certify those processes as rational, or proof against scepticism, or even apt to yield the truth. Naturalized epistemology would therefore blend into the psychology of learning and the study of episodes in the history of science. The scope for ‘external’ or philosophical reflection of the kind that might result in scepticism or its refutation is markedly diminished. Although the term is modern, distinguished exponents of the approach include Aristotle, Hume, and J. S. Mill . See also epistemology, methodology.