For empiricism, valid knowledge is that which can be proven through experience.
The first thing to do to understand the term empiricism in depth is to determine its etymological origin, which is what later determines the meaning it has. To do this we have to make it clear that it is in Greek and that within said language the aforementioned word is made up of three parts that are the prefix en- which is equivalent to “before”; the word peiran which means “to treat” and the suffix -ism which translates as “doctrine or activity”.
The concept of empiricism is used to describe knowledge that is born from experience . It is also a philosophical structure based precisely on the data that emerge from all experience.
In this sense, we could establish that empiricism is basically based on two fundamental principles. On the one hand, it carries out the denial of the absolutization of truth, also establishing that man cannot access absolute truth. And on the other hand, it makes it clear that every truth must always be put to the test, giving rise to the possibility that, based on experience, it can be modified, corrected or abandoned.
Empiricism in philosophy
For philosophy , empiricism constitutes a theory related to knowledge that accentuates the value of experience and sensory perception in the emergence of ideas. For knowledge to be valid, it must be tested through experience, which in this way becomes the basis of all kinds of knowledge.
Likewise, empiricism in the philosophy of science assumes that the scientific method must appeal to hypotheses and theories tested through observation of the natural world . Reasoning, intuition and revelation are subordinated to experience.
The Scotsman David Hume is one of the greatest exponents of empiricism.
The contribution of John Locke
It is also interesting to note that the Englishman John Locke ( 1632 – 1704 ) was the first to explicitly formulate the doctrine of empiricism. Locke considered that the brain of a newborn is like a blank slate, on which experiences leave traces. Therefore, empiricism considers that human beings lack innate ideas. Nothing can be understandable without allusion to experience.
In this way, philosophical empiricism is opposed to rationalism , which indicates that knowledge is obtained through reason, beyond the senses or experience.
Empiricism according to Hume, Bacon and Hobbes
The Scottish philosopher David Hume ( 1711 – 1776 ), for his part, added a skeptical point of view to empiricism that allowed him to counter postulates of Locke and other thinkers. For Hume , human knowledge is divided into two categories: the relationship of ideas and the relationship of facts.
Francis Bacon o Thomas Hobbes fueron otros de los empiristas más importantes de la Historia y más concretamente de su vertiente inglesa. En concreto, el último ha pasado a generaciones posteriores por obras de la talla de Leviathan en la que expone un total de diecinueve leyes naturales.
rationalism
It is common that, on many occasions, when talking about empiricism, reference is also made to rationalism.
This is a philosophical trend that is based on the identification of what reason is with thinking. Starting from this meaning, there are various types of rationalism such as ethical, metaphysical or religious.