Owl Header: Michelle Mathias

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It addresses subjects such as the nature of knowledge, the relationship between conceptual knowledge and concrete reality, and whether intellectual certainty is possible.

This section begins by describing the foundations and mechanisms of conceptual knowledge: axioms, deductive reasoning, and various logical processes.

If in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics.
- Roger Bacon

Etymology
Episteme: knowledge, science (from the Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη)
Logos: word, speech, reason, explanation; the link between rational discourse and the world's rational structure (Ancient Greek, λόγος)

Axioms are fundamental building blocks of knowledge. Traditionally, an axiom was conceived as a self-evident premise whose truth is incontestable. Once its veracity is acknowledged, it can act as a foundation upon which to base logical deductions. Undermining an axiom can cause an entire logical structure to collapse.

In order to be considered both true AND logically consistent, an assertion must either:

1) be an axiom, or
2) follow logically from an axiom.