Definition of "empiricism" in English

noun

1. (philosophy) A doctrine which holds that the only or, at least, the most reliable source of human knowledge is experience, especially perception by means of the physical senses. (Often contrasted with rationalism.)

2. A pursuit of knowledge purely through experience, especially by means of observation and sometimes by experimentation.

   • Our whole life in some of its highest and most important aspects is simply empiricism. Empiricism is only another word for experience.
   • I have found no better expression than "religious" for confidence in the rational nature of reality.... Whenever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired empiricism.

3. (social sciences, political science, sociology) Research methodology shaped from empirical philosophy (see above), e.g. surveys, statistics, etc.

4. (medicine, now chiefly historical) Medicine as practised by an empiric, founded on mere (personal or anecdotal) experience, without the aid of science or a knowledge of principles.

   • Near-synonyms: folk medicine; quackery; charlatanry
   • Even at the height of its popularity, medical empiricism was the creature of a most unforgiving free market economy. Successful practitioners seduced crowds as well as public officials.