Empiricism and Philosophy

Makes the case for methodological empiricism, the habit of testing ideas against experience that runs from Bacon to modern science. A clear, book-length study for readers of philosophy of science.

David James Cobb

A compact overview of empiricism in the philosophy of science, from Carnap and Quine to van Fraassen. It explains the two problems every empiricist has to solve: what counts as observable and why we should trust it.

Otávio Bueno

The classic problem behind every empiricist theory: how can past experience justify beliefs about the future? This encyclopedia entry walks through Hume's argument and the main answers given since.

John Vickers

Revisits the old clash between empiricism and rationalism, and how Kant tried to settle it, from an original point of view rooted in quantum mechanics. A bold reading for those who like unexpected connections.

Shiro Ishikawa

Are we born knowing something, or does everything come from experience? This lecture compares innatism and empiricism and adds a third path through mystical knowledge.

Paul Sullins