The Empiricism-Skepticism Marriage: An Analysis of Epistemic Gatekeeping in Modern Science

This paper examines the structural relationship between empiricism and skepticism as gatekeeping mechanisms in modern scientific epistemology. We argue that when combined as absolute principles, these two foundational pillars create a self-defeating system that blocks the emergence of new knowledge while maintaining the appearance of rigor. Through analysis of the "chain of stupidity" and application to five major scientific theories, we demonstrate that this marriage of principles functions not as a truth-seeking mechanism but as a status quo protection system. The paper concludes that modern science survives not by adhering to these principles but by selectively violating them—a pragmatic hypocrisy that enables progress while maintaining rhetorical commitment to impossible standards.