Infallibilism is, in epistemology, the position that knowledge

Knowledge

Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...

 is, by definition, a true

Truth

Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

 belief

Belief

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....

 which cannot be rationally doubted. Other beliefs may be rationally justified

Theory of justification

Theory of justification is a part of epistemology that attempts to understand the justification of propositions and beliefs. Epistemologists are concerned with various epistemic features of belief, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, and probability...

, but they do not rise to the level of knowledge unless absolutely certain. Infallibilism's opposite, fallibilism

Fallibilism

Fallibilism is the philosophical principle that human beings could be wrong about their beliefs, expectations, or their understanding of the world...

, is the position that a justified true belief may be considered knowledge, even if we can rationally doubt it. Falliblism is not to be confused with skepticism

Philosophical skepticism

Philosophical skepticism is both a philosophical school of thought and a method that crosses disciplines and cultures. Many skeptics critically examine the meaning systems of their times, and this examination often results in a position of ambiguity or doubt...

, which is the belief that knowledge is unattainable for rational human beings.

In religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

, infallibilism is the belief that certain texts or persons are incapable of being in the wrong. The most famous example of this is probably the Catholic doctrine of Papal Infallibility

Papal infallibility

Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...

, under which the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 is considered infallible in certain matters of doctrine, when his decisions are promulgated ex cathedra

Ex Cathedra

Ex Cathedra is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works....

.

See also: Infallibility

Infallibility

Infallibility, from Latin origin , is a term with a variety of meanings related to knowing truth with certainty.-In common speech:...

, Fallibilism

Fallibilism

Fallibilism is the philosophical principle that human beings could be wrong about their beliefs, expectations, or their understanding of the world...