empiricism summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see empiricism.

empiricism, Either of two closely related philosophical doctrines, one pertaining to concepts and the other to knowledge. The first doctrine is that most, if not all, concepts are ultimately derived from experience; the second is that most, if not all, knowledge derives from experience, in the sense that appeals to experience are necessarily involved in its justification. Neither doctrine implies the other. Several empiricists have allowed that some knowledge is a priori, or independent of experience, but have denied that any concepts are. On the other hand, few if any empiricists have denied the existence of a priori knowledge while maintaining the existence of a priori concepts. John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume are classical representatives of empiricism. See also Francis Bacon.

A.J. Ayer Summary

A.J. Ayer was a British philosopher and educator and a leading representative of logical positivism through his widely read work Language, Truth, and Logic (1936). Although Ayer’s views changed considerably after the 1930s, becoming more moderate and increasingly subtle, he remained loyal to

Rudolf Carnap Summary

Rudolf Carnap was a German-born American philosopher of logical positivism. He made important contributions to logic, the analysis of language, the theory of probability, and the philosophy of science. From 1910 to 1914 Carnap studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy at the Universities of Jena

George Berkeley Summary

George Berkeley was an Anglo-Irish Anglican bishop, philosopher, and scientist best known for his empiricist and idealist philosophy, which holds that reality consists only of minds and their ideas; everything save the spiritual exists only insofar as it is perceived by the senses. Berkeley was the

Hermann von Helmholtz Summary

Hermann von Helmholtz was a German scientist and philosopher who made fundamental contributions to physiology, optics, electrodynamics, mathematics, and meteorology. He is best known for his statement of the law of the conservation of energy. He brought to his laboratory research the ability to