Empiricism Flashcards
What is Empiricism?
A school of thought that believe that when we are born our mind is tabular rasa and that we gain all our knowledge through experience. Also believe knowledge is propositional and we need a language to formulate it.
What is tabular rasa?
Means ‘blank slate’ and is the belief that when we are born our mind is empty of knowledge as we have had no experience.
What does Hume say about words?
Words are meaningless unless that are tied to or belong to a sense impression.
Explain Hume’s philosophical method.
Our sense interpret the world and give us sense impressions, we associate these with certain words which lead us to formulate ideas and knowledge. Meanings of words and ideas are formed through experience.
Criticisms of Empiricism: Explain the problem of communication.
Words stand for sense impressions which are based on personal experience thus someone couldn’t communicate with me as they wouldn’t understand my words.
Criticisms of Empiricism: Sense impressions are not necessary for ideas.
It is not necessary to have experienced something to have an idea of it; 1,000,000 sided shape.
Criticisms of Empiricism: The role of words.
Empiricists believe that words are labels but words are concepts which be attached to many things.
Criticisms of Empiricism: Solipsism.
Since your sense impressions are personal and you cannot understand anyone else experience then you cannot confirm or deny yours. therefore only your mind could exsist.
