Empiricism is the concept that knowledge is gained through experiences and senses; it is often referred to as “healthy skepticism.” This idea emphasizes the idea of experience and observation rather than listening to past traditions. Empiricism has often been contrasted with Rationalism, the idea that we learn through intellectual reasoning rather than sensory experiences. It is also part of the idea of nature versus nurture which contrast the ideas between genetic or learned influences. Empiricism is the concept that focuses on the learned influences rather than the genetic ones.
An example of how I have used this concept in my own life is learning that fighting with my brother is wrong. If me and my brother got into an argument when we were little, whether it was verbal or physical, our parents would punish us and tell us that fighting is wrong. Through the experience of my parents disciplining me and being scolded for fighting, I learned that this action was wrong and I should not do it. Before my parents punished me for fighting with my brother, I would not have thought this was wrong to do. It is not in my genetics to know whether fighting is right or wrong, but it is definitely something I learned from actually doing.
Another example of my own experience with empiricism is knowing that my mother is a caring woman. I have learned this through experiencing her kind and caring actions towards my brother and I and it has allowed me to make the conclusion that she is a caring woman and mother. If I did not know her, I would not be able to make this conclusion, but through the personal experience of her caring actions for my brother and I, I have learned what type of person she is. People only know what they have personally experienced and this is how they make their judgements about other people and things in their lives.
Links:
http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-empiricism-and-skepticism
The way you described fighting with your brother also reminds me of a few modern perspectives of psychology. Since your parents scolded you for fighting, this conveys one aspect of operant conditioning (punishment of something bad), which has to do with the Behavioral theory of modern psychology. Additionally, you stated, “Before my parents punished me for fighting with my brother, I would not have thought this was wrong to do.” This reminded me of Socialcultural theories of modern psychology. As you said, fighting is wrong. However, that is simply a construct of our society and culture. For our ancestors, fighting was necessary for survival and defending oneself, but the reason why you have now altered your behavior is due to social and cultural influences. This applies for you, me, and most children in America as a whole. Finally, since you claim that this concept is not part of your genetics, I assume you believe that the Biopsychological theory of psychology does not apply here. I thought that it would be interesting to take this one anecdote of yours and analyze it from a variety of modern perspectives of psychology!
Personally, these theories of psychology have been what I struggle understanding. However, after reading your blog I feel like I have a much better idea of empiricism and rationalism. I thought that connect empiricism to fighting with your brother was a very good way to describe how the theory of empiricism works. On the other hand, I feel like the fighting example could also be an example of rationalism as the earliest humans innately fought to survive. As for the mother example, I believe that when a child is born he/she has an inborn connection with the mother. I do agree that through experience you recognize her characteristics, however, I think naturally one knows that the mother is the caretaker. Perhaps it’s a mix of both empiricism and rationalism. I believe that we have so many theories of psychology because of conversations like these. There’s so many ways to examine a specific situation and apply different theories to it in a way that makes sense.
I love the way you described your own experiences of “Empiricism”, and I feel like it shows that you understand the main concept of this term. I also believe that I experienced this phenomenon, as well, by understanding “what is good and what is not” in my life. Every time something happen to my life or I do something to others I can see or feel the feedback that the people or the nature give me. Therefore, I know when I did something wrong or right and I can change my behavior in the future based on my previous experience. To conclude, I live and behave based on my experiences and these are not something that I was born with. Therefore, it is the effect of the “Empiricism”. Once again, I think you did a good job by explaining this concept and I really liked your post.
This post was very insightful–“empiricism” is such a fascinating topic. I feel as though I have seen a lot of talk about empiricism come up in schools of philosophy when discussing ideas about the existence of God or morality like you said. In my own experience, I also believe that the way I learned morality is empirically as well. My parents would give me feedback when I did something wrong & that was how I was able to discern between good +bad as a young kid. Empiricism is especially important as humans because humans are innately self interest when starting out in life. Jean Piaget described this as ego-centrism. Therefore, the best way to be taught between right and wrong (evident in your case and mine) would be through empiricism.