Since antiquity, mankind has been interested in questions of knowledge. Philosophical thought developed as the individual cognized the world and himself in it. Even in ancient times, fundamental sciences such as mathematics, physics, history, philosophy were born . Then the question arose of what is the path to knowing the truth and what should it be based on. It was at this time that such trends as dogmatism, pragmatism, empiricism arose.
Empiricism as a Philosophy
Empiricism is something that is directly based on practical activity. That is what is obtained through human experience. This concept underlies the philosophical trend of the same name. Sensory experience is absolute for empiricist. This is its essence and source of knowledge. Knowledge arises as a result of human processing of sensory impulses.
Francis Bacon - Founder of Empiricism
The founder of the movement is F. Bacon, thanks to which empiricism was framed in a mature philosophical concept. Later, a series of currents arose within it - above all, positive and logical empiricism. Bacon insisted that for cognition it is necessary to clear perception and mind of empty idols and gain experience through experimentation and observation of nature. The main idols of Bacon: tribe, cave, market, theater. Empiricism contrasts itself with rationalist movements and religious scholasticism.
The truth in empiricism
Rationalists and empiricists disagree on understanding the sources of knowledge of the truth. The former see him in reliable conclusions and urge him not to take anything on faith, absolutizing logic and the deductive method. While empiricism is a flow based on induction. The main source of truth, his adherents see the sensory experience of man (empiry), his sensations. The main task is to realize the sensation, process it and convey the truth extracted from it to the person in a pristine, undistorted form. The main source of knowledge for the empiricist is, first of all, nature, observation of it and the action in it, generating sensation. This teaching is close to such sciences as biology, medicine, physics, astronomy.
The truth in empiricism is the result of living contemplation, which is expressed in such forms:
• sensation (mirroring in the individual’s mind the properties and sides of something, the effect on the senses);
• perception (creating a holistic image of a cognizable object as a result of a synthesis of sensations);
• representation (a meaningful result of the generalization of visual-sensory empiricism, not perceived now, but acting in the past).
In the process of knowing the truth, people are involved in visual, taste, tactile, auditory sensations, which are added to representations with the help of memory and imagination. Empiricism explains this by the presence in the human body of exteroreceptive (sense organs) and interoreceptive (signals about the internal state) systems. Thus, the sensory-emotional and sensory-sensitive components are the basis on which empiricists build the criteria of truth and objective knowledge.