Rationalism Vs Empiricism

Question 1

strengths of rationalism

Answer 1

• universal - same knowledge and understanding
• eternal - information is unchanging
• Descartes - example of wax - cannot be obtained empirically
• avoids the possible inaccuracies of a-posteriori evidence: it should avoid human error or bias and misinterpretation of data.
• based purely on logic, it should be able to give us more certain results when used in an argument.

Question 2

weaknesses of rationalism

Answer 2

• all can’t be known through thinking - thinking of food doesn’t allow you to taste it need taste experience
• may be less persuasive to people. It is usually direct experience, not cold logic, that people find more convincing.
• This type of argument only works if we are absolutely certain that the premises of the argument are accurate.

Question 3

strengths of empiricism/ a-posteriori

Answer 3

Hume - normally our sense experience doesn’t lie to us
Observable and testable evidence
basis of science and human experience

Question 4

weaknesses of empiricism

Answer 4

sense data indirect - mediation between sensation and precipitation

no way of knowing if what we see is reality - hallucination and RE

easy to misinterpret this type of ‘data’ and see patterns that aren’t there. Human beings are flawed thinkers, we make errors, we often skew data and experiences to fit what we are looking for, making it far less reliable.