Science has always shed light on philosophical problems, and often has also offered solutions. Today the cognitive neurosciences are effecting a revolutionary change in our conception of the mind and its functions. They deliver new data concerning the nature of sensations, perception, and abstractive processes. The theory of knowledge (i.e. epistemology) has thus been turned into an experimental discipline, as many philosophers (from Hume to Quine) had urged. Experimental epistemology combines the best features of both disciplines – science's experimental rigour and philosophy’s depth and dialectical sophistication.

How do we get to know something? What sort of constraints do we impose on knowledge? Why do we follow certain discovery paths rather than others? How do we arrive at making judgements and decisions? To what extent is previously acquired knowledge relevant to the elaboration of new experiences? What role, in particular, do expectations and memories play in this process? What is the connection between experience, knowledge, and memory? How are memories fixed and recalled? What is the relationship between consciousness and memory? These are some of the questions tackled by experimental epistemology. Some of the answers can in turn find applications in artificial intelligence and, generally, in the design of intelligent and autonomous systems.