Vol 3 No 1 (2025)
Articles
The Limits of Human Knowledge: A Critical Examination of Skepticism and Foundationalism in Epistemology
Published
May 16, 2025
Keywords
- Epistemology,
- Skepticism,
- Foundationalism,
- Justification
How to Cite
Ogar, T., Akiba, E., & Aboka, G. (2025). The Limits of Human Knowledge: A Critical Examination of Skepticism and Foundationalism in Epistemology. Advances in Law, Pedagogy, and Multidisciplinary Humanities, 3(1), 336-354. Retrieved from http://103.133.36.82/index.php/alpamet/article/view/935
Abstract
This paper critically examines the limits of human knowledge by analyzing two central epistemological frameworks—skepticism and foundationalism. While skepticism challenges the possibility of certain knowledge, foundationalism seeks to establish indubitable bases for justified belief. Through a close reading of Descartes’ methodological doubt and Hume’s empiricist skepticism, the study explores whether radical skepticism undermines all knowledge claims or whether foundationalist approaches can provide a defensible structure for epistemic justification. The paper further evaluates contemporary responses, including coherentism and reliabilism, to assess their viability in addressing the problem of justification. Ultimately, the research argues that while neither skepticism nor foundationalism alone offers a complete solution, a synthesized approach—incorporating elements of pragmatic and social epistemology—may provide a more robust account of human knowledge.
References
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Popper, K. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. Hutchinson.
Putnam, H. (1981). Reason, truth and history. Cambridge University Press.
Putnam, H. (2002). The collapse of the fact/value dichotomy and other essays. Harvard University Press.
Quine, W. V. O. (1969). Epistemology naturalized. In Ontological relativity and other essays (pp. 69-90). Columbia University Press.
Rini, R. (2017). Fake news and partisan epistemology. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 27(S2), 43-64. https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.2017.0025
Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton University Press.
Sextus Empiricus. (2000). Outlines of scepticism (J. Annas & J. Barnes, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.
Sosa, E. (1991). Knowledge in perspective: Selected essays in epistemology. Cambridge University Press.
Williams, M. (2001). Problems of knowledge: A critical introduction to epistemology. Oxford University Press.
Williamson, T. (2007). The philosophy of philosophy. Blackwell.
Wright, C. (2004). Warrant for nothing (and foundations for free)? Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume, 78(1), 167-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0309-7013.2004.00121.x
Bailin, S., & Siegel, H. (2003). Critical thinking. In N. Blake et al. (Eds.), The Blackwell guide to the philosophy of education (pp. 181-193). Blackwell.
Berebon, C. (2023a). Ethical Perspectives of Digital Divide: An African Case Study. Multilingual African Digital Semiotics and E-lit Journal (MADSEJ), 1(1), 67-87.
Berebon, C. (2025). Beyond the Grave: Belief, Knowledge, and the Conceptualization of Death in Philosophical Thanatology. GNOSI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Theory and Praxis, 8(2), 1-14.
Berebon, C. (2025). Evolving Trends and Challenges in International Environmental Law: A Case-Based Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Pollution and Environmental Modelling, 7(2), 96-106.
Berebon, C. B. (2023b). Addressing Electoral Hurdles in Nigeria: Analyzing the 2023 General Elections and INEC's Role. Jurnal Ilmu Sosiologi Dialektika Kontemporer, 11(2).
Berkeley, G. (1996). A treatise concerning the principles of human knowledge. Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1710)
BonJour, L. (1985). The structure of empirical knowledge. Harvard University Press.
Buckner, C. (2018). Empiricism without magic: Transformational abstraction in deep convolutional neural networks. Synthese, 195(12), 5339-5372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1459-z
Carnap, R. (1967). The logical structure of the world (R. A. George, Trans.). University of California Press. (Original work published 1928)
Chisholm, R. M. (1982). The foundations of knowing. University of Minnesota Press.
Clark, A. (2016). Surfing uncertainty: Prediction, action, and the embodied mind. Oxford University Press.
Code, L. (1987). Epistemic responsibility. University Press of New England.
Code, L. (1991). What can she know? Feminist theory and the construction of knowledge. Cornell University Press.
Craig, E. (1990). Knowledge and the state of nature. Oxford University Press.
Davidson, D. (1986). A coherence theory of truth and knowledge. In E. LePore (Ed.), Truth and interpretation (pp. 307-319). Blackwell.
DeRose, K. (2009). The case for contextualism. Oxford University Press.
Descartes, R. (1641). Meditations on first philosophy (J. Cottingham, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.
Dewey, J. (1929). The quest for certainty: A study of the relation of knowledge and action. Minton, Balch & Company.
Firestone, C., & Scholl, B. J. (2016). Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for "top-down" effects. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39, e229. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X15000965
Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press.
Gettier, E. L. (1963). Is justified true belief knowledge? Analysis, 23(6), 121-123. https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/23.6.121
Goldberg, S. (2018). To the best of our knowledge: Social expectations and epistemic normativity. Oxford University Press.
Goldman, A. I. (1979). What is justified belief? In G. S. Pappas (Ed.), Justification and knowledge (pp. 1-23). D. Reidel.
Goldman, A. I. (1999). Knowledge in a social world. Oxford University Press.
Haack, S. (1993). Evidence and inquiry: Towards reconstruction in epistemology. Blackwell.
Hume, D. (2000). A treatise of human nature (D. F. Norton & M. J. Norton, Eds.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1739)
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kitcher, P. (1993). The advancement of science. Oxford University Press.
Leibniz, G. W. (1989). Discourse on metaphysics and other essays (D. Garber & R. Ariew, Trans.). Hackett. (Original work published 1714)
Lewis, D. (1996). Elusive knowledge. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 74(4), 549-567. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048409612347521
Locke, J. (1975). An essay concerning human understanding (P. H. Nidditch, Ed.). Clarendon Press. (Original work published 1689)
Longino, H. E. (2002). The fate of knowledge. Princeton University Press.
Lynch, M. P. (2009). Truth as one and many. Oxford University Press.
Medina, J. (2013). The epistemology of resistance. Oxford University Press.
Montaigne, M. de. (1993). The complete essays (M. A. Screech, Trans.). Penguin. (Original work published 1580)
Odok, J. A., & Berebon, C. (2024). The Interplay of Morality, Law, and Democratic Legitimacy in Habermas’s Political Philosophy. Advances in Law, Pedagogy, and Multidisciplinary Humanities, 2(1), 49-63.
Peirce, C. S. (1877). The fixation of belief. Popular Science Monthly, 12, 1-15.
Popper, K. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. Hutchinson.
Putnam, H. (1981). Reason, truth and history. Cambridge University Press.
Putnam, H. (2002). The collapse of the fact/value dichotomy and other essays. Harvard University Press.
Quine, W. V. O. (1969). Epistemology naturalized. In Ontological relativity and other essays (pp. 69-90). Columbia University Press.
Rini, R. (2017). Fake news and partisan epistemology. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 27(S2), 43-64. https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.2017.0025
Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton University Press.
Sextus Empiricus. (2000). Outlines of scepticism (J. Annas & J. Barnes, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.
Sosa, E. (1991). Knowledge in perspective: Selected essays in epistemology. Cambridge University Press.
Williams, M. (2001). Problems of knowledge: A critical introduction to epistemology. Oxford University Press.
Williamson, T. (2007). The philosophy of philosophy. Blackwell.
Wright, C. (2004). Warrant for nothing (and foundations for free)? Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume, 78(1), 167-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0309-7013.2004.00121.x