empiricism

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

em·pir·i·cism

(ĕm-pîr′ĭ-sĭz′əm)

1. The view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge.

a. Employment of empirical methods, as in science.

b. An empirical conclusion.

3. The practice of medicine that disregards scientific theory and relies solely on practical experience.

em·pir′i·cist n.

empiricism

(ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪzəm)

1. (Philosophy) philosophy the doctrine that all knowledge of matters of fact derives from experience and that the mind is not furnished with a set of concepts in advance of experience. Compare intuitionism, rationalism

2. the use of empirical methods

3. (Medicine) medical quackery; charlatanism

emˈpiricist n, adj

em•pir•i•cism

(ɛmˈpɪr əˌsɪz əm)

n.

1. empirical method or practice.

2. the philosophic doctrine that all knowledge is derived from sense experience. Compare rationalism (def. 2).

3. undue reliance upon experience, as in medicine; quackery.

4. a conclusion that is arrived at empirically.

[1650–60]

em•pir′i•cist, n., adj.

empiricism

1. the doctrine that all ideas and categories are derived from sense experience and that knowledge cannot extend beyond experience, including observation, experiment, and induction.
2. an empirical method or practice. — empiricist, n. — empirical, adj.

empiricism

The view that knowledge proceeds from experience.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	empiricism - (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience empiricist philosophy, sensationalism British empiricism - the predominant philosophical tradition in Great Britain since the 17th century experimentalism - an empirical doctrine that advocates experimental principles logical positivism, positivism - the form of empiricism that bases all knowledge on perceptual experience (not on intuition or revelation) philosophy - the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics philosophical doctrine, philosophical theory - a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy
	2.	empiricism - the application of empirical methods in any art or science investigating, investigation - the work of inquiring into something thoroughly and systematically
	3.	empiricism - medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings quackery medical practice - the practice of medicine

Translations

empirisme

empiricism

[emˈpɪrɪsɪzəm] N → empirismo m

empiricism

[ɪmˈpɪrɪsɪz^əm] n → empirisme m

empiricism

n → Empirismus m; (method) → Empirie f

empiricism

[ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪz/əm] n → empirismo

References in classic literature ?

He, by some wonder of vision, saw beyond the farthest outpost of empiricism, where was no language for narration, and yet, by some golden miracle of speech, investing known words with unknown significances, he conveyed to Martin's consciousness messages that were incommunicable to ordinary souls.

View in context

The minutes lingered, and the delay had seemed an hour to the adventurer in empiricism, when the Huron laid aside his pipe and drew his robe across his breast, as if about to lead the way to the lodge of the invalid.

View in context

Moreover, the idealism and the empiricism of the Politics are never really reconciled by Aristotle himself.

View in context

The intellectual ramifications of empiricism, combined with the new social realities of the Industrial Revolution, left many in the nineteenth century feeling a dearth of spirituality and imagination.

The Poetics of Poesis: The Making of Nineteenth-Century English Fiction

Although his conception of aim-oriented empiricism (AOE) has attracted some attention and has been analyzed, for instance by F.

Maxwell, Nicholas. Understanding Scientific Progress: Aim-Oriented Empiricism

I was immersed in a world of cutting-edge science, of empiricism.

Over Four Decades, a Study Partner Becomes a Close Friend

According to Bas van Fraassen's constructive empiricism, if one accepts science, then she is ready to believe what its theories say about the observable parts of the world as true, while the rest needs no matter (see van Fraassen, 2005: 111).

Why Van Fraassen should amend his position on instrument-mediated detections

De Groot identifies the source of early mechanical knowledge in kinesthetic awareness of mechanical advantage, showing the relation of Aristotle's empiricism to more ancient experience.

Aristotle's Empiricism

The powerful dominance of contemporary materialist thinking in the form of modern empiricism is confronted by Richard De Brasi and Joseph R.

Preface

Bennett, Words, Space, and the Audience: The Theatrical Tension Between Empiricism and Rationalism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), Pages 179.

Philosophical Tensions in Modern Dramatic Literature

He surveys recent scholarship on the beginnings of the phenomenological theory, existentialist critiques of Husserl's theory, language-analytic accounts and the new empiricism, computer models and functional explanations, criticisms of the analytic-empirical approach, extensions of the phenomenological theory, and a hybrid project that contains the best of both approaches.

Languages of intentionality; a dialogue between two traditions on consciousness

demonstrate the unique, field-specific, and vibrant role of empiricism across different areas of law.