Published : 2025-12-29

Epistemology as the Theory of Critical Thinking: An Overview of the Issues

Ewa Odoj



Abstract

Critical thinking is widely recognized as a key competence of the twenty-first century. It becomes particularly significant in the face of the challenges posed by the digital era and the nature of contemporary social and economic development. Theoretical reflection on critical thinking, which underlies the understanding and cultivation of practical skills in this domain, is undertaken within various disciplines, most notably logic, cognitive psychology, and the methodology of science. In this paper, I highlight the contribution that epistemology can make to understanding the nature of critical thinking. Accordingly, I draw attention to issues such as the value of knowledge, the definition of knowledge, the problem of skepticism and the structure of knowledge, the aim of knowledge, the practical conditions of knowledge attribution, and the ethics of belief, particularly the questions of epistemic responsibility and doxastic voluntarism. Finally, I introduce the notion of epistemic strategy and indicate the significance of metacognition for both critical thinking and epistemic responsibility.

Keywords:

critical thinking, epistemology, knowledge, scepticism, epistemic strategy, the ethics of belief



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Odoj, E. (2025). Epistemology as the Theory of Critical Thinking: An Overview of the Issues. Roczniki Filozoficzne, 73(4), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.18290/rf25734.6

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Roczniki Filozoficzne · ISSN 0035-7685 | eISSN 2450-002X
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