empiricism
em-PIR-uh-siz-uhm
/ɪmˈpɪr.ə.sɪz.əm/
The theory that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience rather than innate concepts.
Focuses on gathering observational data, physical evidence, and experimental verification.
The story behind the word. Derived from ancient Greek 'empeiria', meaning experience or trial. Ancient empiric physicians based treatments purely on practical trial rather than elaborate theoretical models.
Word relationships
- experimentalism: Experimentalism emphasizes active trial testing, while empiricism broadly covers all sensory experience.
- rationalism: Rationalism posits pure reason as the source of knowledge rather than bodily senses.
Commonly confused with
- empiric: An empiric historically referred to an untrained medical practitioner relying solely on untheoretical practice.
Word family
- empiricist (noun): An advocate or practitioner of empiricism.
- empirical (adjective): Based on observation or physical experience.
Collocations
- strict empiricism
- foundations of empiricism
- scientific empiricism
Example sentences
- "Modern scientific inquiry relies heavily on empiricism, requiring observable data before accepting a hypothesis." Scientific Methodology
Memory hook
EMPIRicism relies on EMPIRical evidence that you can touch, see, and test. Seeing and touching is believing.
When not to use
Do not use to describe casual curiosity or trial-and-error attempts in non-academic contexts.
Fun facts
- John Locke's British empiricism directly laid the conceptual foundation for modern experimental scientific methods.
Related words
Explore more words
empirical, positivism, verification, experiential, rationalism, a priori
Also appears in
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