Well-read · Philosophy & belief · Science & thinking
Empiricism: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Empiricism noun. The view that knowledge comes chiefly from experience and observation rather than from reason alone.
How to say it
em-PIRR-ih-siz-um/ɛmˈpɪrɪsɪz(ə)m/
5 syllables, stressed on the second (PIRR). Forms: empiricist, empirical.
Empiricism in a sentence
Her cooking ran on pure empiricism: taste, adjust, taste again.
Locke and Hume are the great names of British empiricism.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- experimentalism
- observation
- pragmatism
Opposite:
- rationalism
Where empiricism comes from
From Greek empeirikos, experienced, from empeiria, experience.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Locke and Hume are the great names of British _____.
- paradigm
- empiricism
- relativism
Show the answer
empiricism: Locke and Hume are the great names of British empiricism.