The philosophical position that human knowledge and beliefs can be mistaken or uncertain, and that absolute certainty is impossible.
From Latin 'fallibilis' (capable of erring) plus the philosophical suffix '-ism' (a doctrine or theory). This term became prominent in 19th-century philosophy, particularly in pragmatism.
Karl Popper revolutionized science by arguing that fallibilism is the whole point—science doesn't prove things true, it just hasn't proven them false *yet*, which flipped how we think about knowledge from 'certainty' to 'best guess so far.'
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