EMPIRICISM

EMPIRICISM is a philosophical term applied to the theory that all human knowledge is derived from the senses and experience alone, to the rejection of the theory of innate ideas.

John Locke, in modern times, is considered the great representative of the school that advocates this doctrine supported by Aristotle.

Empiricism focuses entirely on experience and evidence as it relates to sensory perception.

The philosophy of empiricism was first put forth in John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding in the 1600s, as a response to the theorey of rationalism of Rene Descartes.

Locke argued that the only way by which humans acquire knowledge is through experience. He expanded the Aristotle's notion of humans as blank slates and firmly argued that humans are incapable of formulating or possessing inherent ideas.