What is empiricism, empirics - definition, provisions

Philosophy of modern times

The philosophy of modern times has a time frame from the 17th to the 20th centuries. It is often associated with the period of revolutionary movements in Western European countries. It was during this period that the philosophical direction of empiricism was born and developed.

The main features of modern philosophy are:

• the emergence of a problem in the relationship between subject and object;
• the question of knowledge of nature is brought to the fore, relying on experience and experiment;
• cognition is fundamentally based on the study of the system as a whole, and not its individual parts;
• a new form of materialism is emerging, reflected in such sciences as mechanics and mathematics.

It was this period that became a kind of collection of necessary conditions for the development of a new philosophical direction. And, thanks to him, we can know what empiricism is.

Scientific methods in experimental psychology. Orderliness, empiricism

The psychological and physical nature of the world is ordered, not random or chaotic. Moreover, the postulate is accepted according to which individual phenomena are in systemic relationships with each other and individual events follow each other in an ordered sequence that can be observed, described and predicted. For example, we may note that children crawl before they can walk, that the sensation of an object precedes its recognition, and that hungry animals seek food rewards more aggressively than satiated animals are also interesting riddles for children. In the case of studying the dependence of preference for toys on the gender of the child, orderly relationships appear between the presence of certain hormones (androgens) in the child’s blood and certain behavior (choice of toys).

Empiricism

Empiricism is defined as the practice of relying on observation and experimentation, especially in the natural sciences, which includes experimental psychology. Empirical research is based on measures (often expressed in numerical form), such as assessment of learning achievement, strength of persuasion, or the number of minutes spent playing with boys' toys.

These measurements are then converted into data that provides factual information in numerical form. For example, we measure learning through test scores, beliefs through voter surveys, and toy preferences by observing what toys a child plays with.

Not all data collected empirically is valid. Data may lack validity if it is selectively selected to support a preconceived opinion or if it leaves out important aspects of the problem. As in the first example, it is possible to confirm almost any point of view by selecting suitable data for a favorite theory and suppressing contrary ones.

Unfortunately, overzealous politicians often engage in this form of deception, using poll results that support their ratings while suppressing evidence to the contrary. This practice is often called “How to Lie with Statistics,” and while such moves can help candidates in elections, they will also be found in scientific psychology.

In the second case, when relevant information is overlooked, the main culprit is ignorance: the scientist is unaware of many possible causes of behavior and describes only part of the useful data. Thus, the conclusion may be incorrectly formulated due to unintentionally missing important aspects. The cure for this problem may be to increase attention to the complexity of scientific sources and expand the boundaries of research.

The concept of empiricism

In order to understand what empiricism is, it is first and foremost worth understanding the essence of the term empiricist, which is its basis. Empirics implies a generalized concept of everything that is based on achieving results in the process of practical activity. It was this concept that became the foundation for the formation and further development of such a philosophical movement as empiricism.

Empiricism in philosophy is a direction that asserts that all reliable knowledge can be based only on sensory experience, which includes observations and experiments.

What is empiricism

The concept of “empiricism” unites more than 10 separate directions in the theory of knowledge. A common feature of various theories of empiricism: knowledge is the result of life experience. It is reliable knowledge because it reflects events that actually happened. But life experience cannot be considered the only source of reliable knowledge. A single experience does not reflect the completeness of observations; it is one of the versions of objective reality.

Empiricism is based on the following principles:

1. A series of events creates an associative connection. If event A occurs, event B will occur.
2. The connection between experience and reaction to an event arises as a result of repeated repetition.
3. Gradually, the associative series becomes familiar and inextricable. It becomes impossible to separate the perception of an event from the lived experience.
4. Such connections arise not only during the life of a particular person. They are formed over several centuries, millennia. Also, the development of the animal world causes a predisposition to the emergence of connections. Spencer believed that a person is inclined to have associations from birth. They are formed in the process of evolution and gradually become more complex.
5. In addition to biological conditions, the social environment is involved in the process of forming experience. The cultural field influences the development of the individual, creating conditions for the formation of cognitive processes. Experience should be considered as a psychological phenomenon.

Cognition becomes possible thanks to the influence of experience on psychophysical processes and the formation of associative connections from individual elements of consciousness. The laws of knowledge have a high degree of probability, but they are not reliable. The laws of knowledge change and develop.

Methods of empirical knowledge

Since the essence of empiricism is the knowledge of the world through sensory perception, the object being studied is displayed primarily from the side of its external state, which has the ability to be assessed by a person by one or another sense organ. Experimental research in empiricism is based on knowledge of an object using the following methods:

• description;
• comparison;
• measurement;
• observation;
• experiment.

The above methods of empiricism enable a person to create conclusions based on conducting a particular experiment. All results obtained must be generalized using the inductive method, or rather, specific conclusions to general ones. In this case, it is necessary to avoid the deductive method. Using the inductive method, empiricists could generalize the information obtained during experience with great gradualism, moving from specific facts to small scientific propositions, and then to increasingly higher ones.

Learning through experience

The empirical method is a teaching method in which information is received exclusively through independent direct study of the subject of interest. Simply put, the essence of this method is to try to do something on your own, the expression “trial and error” is often used. Most often, this method does not imply the participation of any teacher or mentor in the process, that is, a person must himself study a topic that interests him, an object that interests him, and so on.

However, in some cases it can be helpful to have another person involved in the process who can help you reflect on your empirical experience. If training in accordance with this method is properly structured and planned, it can produce incredible results. However, there is also a second side to the coin - if learning through experience is not organized correctly, you can make frequent mistakes that will discourage you from further study. Accordingly, this method is not as simple as many imagine it to be.

Empiricism and rationalism

The empiricism of the new philosophy is opposed to such a direction as rationalism, whose main source of knowledge was and remains reason. Rationalism welcomes methods such as theoretical speculation and abstract principles of knowledge. Its founders were F. Descartes, B. Spinoza, V. Leibniz.

While rationalists derive formulas and theoretical speculations about space, empiricists claim that all this is not a fact, because it also needs to be verified.

Forms of empiricism

It is worth understanding that different philosophical trends, examples of which are the empiricism and rationalism discussed above, do not always exclusively deny each other’s postulates. Logically this is not possible. Thus, the essence of empiricism and the views opposing it is to prove what exactly is the main, and not the absolute, source of knowledge. In other words, they allow each other’s ideas to be reflected in real life, but to a much lesser extent in comparison with their own.

Many areas of knowledge have different forms. Empiricism is no exception; it is divided into two main forms:

• immanent;
• transcendental.

Immanent form

The immanent form implies ways of proving that all existing knowledge consists of a combination of individual sensations. As history shows, such methods ultimately lead to skepticism or the assumption of the transcendental.

One of the representatives of this form of empiricism, Hume, adhered to the idea of ​​​​the absence of reality outside consciousness. In his views, impressions are strong products of human mental activity, while ideas are weak and pale. Accordingly, impressions can be a source of knowledge, but ideas cannot. But, developing this point of view, Hume himself came to the realization that even impressions can exist apart from consciousness.

Another representative of the immanent direction of empiricism, Mill, like his like-minded person, developed the idea of ​​the existence of consciousness exclusively within the framework of such mental manifestations as ideas and emotions. But he also ultimately admitted the possibility of existence outside consciousness.

The word "empirical" in simple words

To understand what this very concept of “empirical” means, it is worth understanding the etymology (origin) of this concept. This word goes back to the term "empiricism", which comes from the ancient Greek word "έμπειρία", meaning experience

.

By empiricism, as a rule, we mean a philosophical movement, whose representatives believe that the main source of scientific, like any other knowledge, is experience

. That is, we gain any knowledge we have through experience, observations and experiments.

Essentially, when we say the phrase “empirically,” we mean by experience. Moreover, experience in this context is not only some kind of scientific experience, but also life experience in general.

Some compare this concept with the simpler concept of “school of life.” In part, this comparison is relatively true, but still somewhat different.

Francis Bacon

Among the representatives of modern empiricism one can hear many familiar names, often appearing on the pages of publications devoted to philosophy. Among them are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Dewey, but it is Bacon who is considered the founder of this trend. Thus, today we can know what empiricism is thanks to the teachings of this philosopher. He was not only a thinker, but also a political figure, among whose written works the “New Organon” and “New Atlantis” stood out. And the world-famous aphorism “Knowledge is power” belongs to him.

Bacon did not adhere to radical forms of empiricism. On the contrary, he fully supported the idea of ​​its interaction with other philosophical views, believing that theoretical thinking and practical experience can exist in unity. So, as proof of his words in one of his works, he cites an insect such as a bee as an example. After all, it is not limited to collecting nectar from plants, but also creates a new product from it - honey.

But still, as a representative of empiricism, the main source of knowledge in Bacon’s ideas is recognized as experience, which saturates the mind, confirms or refutes the reliability of specific knowledge. In order to find out the truth, according to Bacon, it is necessary to obtain a sufficient amount of experience, and when it comes to hypotheses, then experience is the best method of proving them.

One of the main goals of humanity is to understand the Universe. And for this, God endowed man with intelligence. But, according to the theory of F. Bacon, on the path of man’s achievement of truth and understanding of the Universe, there are obstacles or, in other words, errors. He called them idols or ghosts, and also divided them into four groups.

Use in psychology

Naturally, we should not forget that empirical experience in psychology is also described. Within the framework of this science, empiricism as such is characterized by posing the question that the value of human knowledge is closely dependent on the experience from which specific knowledge originated. It is believed that data obtained through the empirical method are reliable, because the source is direct experience. However, you should not think that it is necessary to limit yourself exclusively to the empirical method in cognition - other approaches are also very important and play their role in the formation of full-fledged human cognition.

As a matter of fact, it is in psychology that empirical knowledge is contrasted with theoretical knowledge, the essence of which is to obtain information not through experience, but through literature, stories, audio and video recordings, as well as all sorts of other sources from which you can get ready-made information that does not require study experimentally, because someone has already done this before.

Types of idols (ghosts)

Barriers to understanding the world in Bacon's perception have the following categories:

• Idols of the race are delusions that are inherent in almost all of humanity. They are expressed in the fact that the mind imposes certain labels, definitions on things that it itself has developed, even if they are not true. An example is what often happens in the life of every person, when the mind finds an easy way to solve a problem, it is ready to close its eyes to circumstances that contradict this solution. Stereotypes are something that can be classified in this category.
• The idols of the cave express a distorted understanding of a person in relation to his individual life experiences. Every person is born and lives his life in certain conditions. Family, school, books, friends - all this makes up a certain individual set of human values, which can be represented as a cave. In this regard, having already certain established foundations, it is sometimes difficult for people to understand each other or correctly perceive nature itself, life, the universe. It is almost impossible to meet a person who looks at life with an exclusively impartial gaze, without turning to his interests and knowledge, which were instilled in him literally from the cradle.
• The idols of the square (idols of the market) are the most difficult obstacles to the path of knowledge, according to Bacon. They expose people to misconceptions that arise due to an incorrect understanding of the meaning of certain words and phrases. It often happens that people perceive the same phrase or phrase differently. Words, as a rule, have multiple meanings, which makes them a source of distorted understanding of things. Sometimes they may not explain at all, but on the contrary, confuse.
• Idols of theater (idols of theories) - are expressed in blind faith in existing scientific theories, teachings, authorities that prevent the mind from seeing the truth with a new look.

Thomas Hobbes

Hobbes was not only a continuator of Bacon's views, but also his direct student. His most famous work was Leviathan.

He developed the idea that every person is initially born with a purified consciousness, in which there is no knowledge, and he acquires it in the process of life precisely with the help of experience and sensory perception. Since the senses perceive various signals from the environment and transmit them to a person, Hobbes pays special attention to them. He called them signs and organized them into the following classification:

• signals – speech sounds made by animals, for example, growling, meowing, etc.;
• labels are a kind of signs that a person comes up with to summarize something;
• natural signs - sounds of nature, such as the sound of rain, whistling wind, thunderstorm;
• arbitrary communicative designations – existing languages ​​of communication;
• signs are speech that has a narrow scope of application due to its specificity. For example, religious terms, scientific phrases.

John Locke

Another adherent of empiricism, John Locke, is known for his work “Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” Locke's main ideas boil down to the following postulates:

• man has absolutely no innate ideas and principles;
• at birth a person has a completely intact mind, like a blank slate;
• There is nothing in the human mind that does not previously exist in sensations and feelings.

Thus, all of the above comes down to the idea that a person enriches his originally pure mind through experience.
According to Locke, all the sensations that a person receives from his environment are the main source of knowledge. Locke divided experience into two types:

• external experience - it was expressed in sensations that can be experienced upon contact with the material forms of the world;
• internal - this type of experience is called reflection, which is expressed in one’s own observations.

John Locke is considered one of the first to put forward sensory perceptions caused by the surrounding external world as the main point of the entire mental life of a person.