Empiricism

Empiricism (greek εμπειρισμός, from empirical, latin experientia - the experience), is the philosophical doctrine that all human knowledge comes at first from senses and experience. Empiricism denies that humans have innate ideas or that anything is knowable prior to any experience.

Related Topics:
Greek - Philosophical - Innate ideas

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Empiricism is contrasted with continental rationalism, epitomized by René Descartes. According to the rationalist, philosophy should be performed via introspection and a priori deductive reasoning. Names associated with empiricism include St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes (also see naturalism), Francis Bacon, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.

Related Topics:
Continental rationalism - René Descartes - A priori - Deductive reasoning - St. Thomas Aquinas - Aristotle - Thomas Hobbes - Naturalism - Francis Bacon - John Locke - George Berkeley - David Hume

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It is generally regarded as being at the heart of the modern scientific method, that our theories should be based on our observations of the world rather than on intuition or faith; that is, empirical research and a posteriori inductive reasoning rather than purely deductive logic.

Related Topics:
Scientific method - Theories - Observation - Intuition - Faith - Empirical research - A posteriori - Inductive reasoning - Deductive logic

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Empirical is an adjective often used in conjunction with science, both the natural and social sciences, which means the use of working hypotheses which are capable of being disproved using observation or experiment (ie: ultimately through experience).

Related Topics:
Science - Natural - Social science - Hypotheses - Disproved - Observation - Experiment - Experience

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In a second sense empirical in science may be synonymous with experimental. In this sense, an empirical result is an experimental observation. In this context, the term semi-empirical or semiempirical is used for qualifying theoretical methods which use in part basic axioms or postulated scientific laws and empirical (experimental) results. Such methods are opposed to theoretical ab initio methods which are purely deductive and based on first principles. This terminology is particularly important in theoretical chemistry.

Related Topics:
Experimental - Axiom - Ab initio - Deductive - First principles - Theoretical chemistry

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