empiricism

noun

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em·pir·i·cism | \ im-ˈpir-ə-ˌsi-zəm

, em- \

Definition of empiricism

1a : a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory

b : quackery, charlatanry

2a : the practice of relying on observation and experiment especially in the natural sciences

b : a tenet arrived at empirically

3 : a theory that all knowledge originates in experience

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Examples of empiricism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The exhibition begins in 1780, a bit of an arbitrary date, because the Enlightenment attends to religion, a staple of art, but also, and this is new, to nature, science, and empiricism. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 Mar. 2022 Other scholars have pointed out that feminist standpoint theory is helpful in understanding white empiricism and who is eligible to be a worthy observer of the human condition and our world. — Monica R. Mclemore, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2021 As Cheyne notes in his essay: The British empiricism of John Locke, David Hume and David Hartley was itself at odds, Coleridge pointed out, with a deeper heritage of British thought. — Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 23 Apr. 2021 An alternative conclusion—richer in possibilities, in my opinion—is that scientific thought in recent decades invites us to reject empiricism and to endorse a broader epistemology. — WSJ, 3 Oct. 2021 Milton Friedman, whose empiricism led him to embrace free-market public policy, was the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century. — Matthew Continetti, National Review, 8 May 2021 The same empiricism led him to keep urging Virgin Galactic engineers not to be spooked by the past. — Anna Russel, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2021 Secularists replace religious faith with naturalism, rationalism and empiricism. — Star Tribune, 15 July 2021 The pairing seems a fitting departure point for a New World social order steeped in the mindset of Enlightenment empiricism, but as McHugh notes, each work bears the idiosyncratic stamp of its creators and the ethos of the early American republic. — Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 2 July 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'empiricism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.