title: EPISTEMOLOGY: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge
author:  Paul Horrigan 
description: About the Author:Dr. Paul Gerard Horrigan received his Ph.D in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy (2000). He has taught at universities in Asia and North America and is currently completing a multi-volume philosophy manual series.
zlib_text: **The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology**
  
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  **Preface**
  
  Epistemology, also known as the theory of knowledge, will flourish as long as
  we deem knowledge valuable. We shall, I predict, continue to value knowledge,
  if only for its instrumental value: it gets us through the day as well as the
  night. Indeed, it's hard to imagine a stable person, let alone a stable
  society, indifferent to the real difference between genuine knowledge and mere
  opinion, even mere true opinion. The study of knowledge, then, has a very
  bright future.
  
  In the concept-sensitive hands of philosophers, epistemology focuses on the
  nature, origin, and scope of knowledge. It thus examines the defining
  ingredients, the sources, and the limits of knowledge. Given the central role
  of epistemology in the history of philosophy as well as in contemporary
  philosophy, epistemologists will always have work to do. Debates over the
  analysis of knowledge, the sources of knowledge, and the status of skepticism
  will alone