CF Dictionary · Knowledge & Epistemology
Infallibilism
The view that some knowledge can be guaranteed true. CF rejects this in all forms, including probabilistic.
Infallibilism is the position that some kind of knowledge — empirical, mathematical, or introspective — can be guaranteed true (or probabilistically guaranteed). It is the position CF and CR explicitly reject.
CF rejects every form of infallibilism:
- Absolute infallibilism. "I am 100% sure X is true."
- Probabilistic infallibilism. "I am 99% sure X is true." (CF says the regress applies here too — and the probabilities compound toward zero.)
- Partial infallibilism by domain. "Math is infallible, but empirical science isn't." (Universal premises in math are still fallible.)
- Introspective infallibilism. "I know what I mean." (CF: meanings evolve and are contested; you can be mistaken about your own meanings.)
Why CF rejects all versions
The regress argument applies to every attempt at justification:
- You claim X is infallibly known.
- You offer justification J1 for X.
- You claim J1 is infallible.
- You offer J2 for J1.
- … ad infinitum.
The chain must either regress forever, loop, or stop at dogma. None of the three is acceptable.
The escape hatch
CF's escape is to give up the goal of infallible knowledge and replace it with non-refuted knowledge. You don't need certainty to act — you need a plan with no known error.
"Attempts to dispute fallibilism can be refuted by a regress argument." — criticalfallibilism.com