empiricism

(noun)

A theory which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It emphasizes evidence, especially as in the kind of evidence gathered through experimentation and by use of the scientific method.

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(noun)

A theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is a fundamental part of the scientific method that all hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on a priori reasoning, intuition, or revelation.

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(noun)

A theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism and skepticism, it emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience, in the formation of ideas, over the notion of innate ideas or traditions.

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Examples of empiricism in the following topics:

  • Rationalism

    • This is commonly called continental rationalism, because it was predominant in the continental schools of Europe, whereas in Britain empiricism, or a theory that knowledge comes only or primarily from a sensory experience, dominated.
    • Although rationalism and empiricism are traditionally seen as opposing each other, the distinction between rationalists and empiricists was drawn at a later period and would not have been recognized by philosophers involved in Enlightenment debates.
    • On the other hand, Leibniz admitted in his book Monadology that "we are all mere Empirics in three fourths of our actions."
    • Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) rejected the dogmas of both rationalism and empiricism and tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom and political authority, as well as map out a view of the public sphere through private and public reason.

  • Scientific Exploration

    • Science, based on empiricism and rational thought and embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress, came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought.
    • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

  • Roots of the Scientific Revolution

    • During the scientific revolution, changing perceptions about the role of the scientist in respect to nature, the value of evidence, experimental or observed, led towards a scientific methodology in which empiricism played a large, but not absolute, role.
    • The term British empiricism came into use to describe philosophical differences perceived between two of its founders Francis Bacon, described as empiricist, and René Descartes, who was described as a rationalist.
    • Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, and David Hume were the primary exponents of empiricism and developed a sophisticated empirical tradition as the basis of human knowledge.
    • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

  • Intellectual Life

    • Philosophical discourse was stimulated by the rediscovery of Aristotle - more than 3000 pages of his works would eventually be translated - and his emphasis on empiricism and rationalism.

  • Babylonian Culture

    • The Diagnostic Handbook additionally introduced the methods of therapy and etiology outlining the use of empiricism, logic, and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

  • Introduction to the Enlightenment

    • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

  • Arts and Sciences

    • Scholastics believed in empiricism and supporting Roman Catholic doctrines through secular study, reason, and logic.

  • Enlightenment Ideals

    • Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress.

  • The Popularization of Science

    • The tree reflected the marked division between the arts and sciences, which was largely a result of the rise of empiricism.