Infallibility

2011-07-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

In common speech

When a statement, teaching, or book is called 'infallible', this can mean any of the following:

It is something that can't be proved false.

It is something that can be safely relied on.

It is something completely trustworthy and sure.

When a person is called 'infallible', this can mean any of the following:

Some (or all) statements or teachings made by this person can be relied on to be certainly true.

This person always makes good and moral choices, and his actions may never be considered immoral or evil.

This person is always right, and never wrong or incorrect.

However, definitions of 'infallible' differ widely. In common speech, 'infallibility' can refer to a person (or a group of persons), to an act of teaching by these persons, or to the information being taught.

Furthermore, infallibility can refer to the both 'absence of error' or to the 'inability to err'. Although these definitions are similar, they are philosophically distinct; it is theoretically possible for a person to live their entire life without erring even though they had the ability (and potential) to do that. A person who never commits an immoral act or speaks a false sentence by choice would thus qualify for 'absence of error' without being qualified for 'inablity to err'.

Infallibility is sometimes used to refer to someone's ability to 'learn' something with certainty. For example, a careful researcher might study a hundred books, each of which contains a few errors, and after carefully judging the statements in these books might deduce the complete, error-free truth. This is referred to as 'learning infallibly' or 'knowing infallibly'. However, this meaning is rarely used.

The Infallible I AM

Infallibility