Epistemolatry

Dogmatic worship of a particular epistemological system (e.g., empiricism, rationalism, positivism) as the only legitimate way to know anything. Epistemolaters refuse to consider alternative ways of knowing, such as intuition, testimony, tradition, or embodied experience. They treat their preferred epistemic rules as sacred and any deviation as irrational or sinful. This is distinct from normal philosophical commitment because it is uncritical, absolute, and dismissive of other frameworks. Epistemolatry closes off inquiry rather than enabling it.

Example: “Her epistemolatry led her to dismiss indigenous oral history as ‘not real knowledge’ because it didn’t meet her positivist standards—she worshipped her epistemology more than actual understanding.”

Epistemolatry by Dumu The Void April 28, 2026