Epistemic humility
Etymology
From "epistemic" (Greek "epistēmē," knowledge) and "humility" (Latin "humilis," low, from "humus," ground). The phrase is modern, joining the philosophy of knowledge to an old virtue: keeping one’s claims close to the ground, proportioned to the evidence.
noun phrase · /ep-ih-STEM-ik hyoo-MIL-ih-tee/
A well-founded awareness of the limits and fallibility of one’s own knowledge.
What it names
A specific intellectual virtue — knowing what you don't know — as distinct from general modesty of manner.
Example
Epistemic humility meant she gave probabilities, not verdicts, on questions still genuinely open.
Related idea
Epistemic humility is a calibrated grasp of one’s own limits; the Dunning–Kruger effect is its failure mode, where the least competent are the most sure — humility is what its victims most conspicuously lack.