History of Psychology

ASSIGNMENT

Bahria University, Karachi

Institute of Professional Psychology
Ms. Khudeja

Fariya Usama Khan

05-171202-194
 Empiricism

What is Empiricism? Empiricism is the belief that humans upon existence or birth are similar to
blank slates or “tabula rasa” whereby knowledge is obtained through mainly sensory
experiences and observations using the 5 human sense factors (touch, taste, sight, smell,
hearing).

Sophists and Western Philosophy

The first Empiricists were Sophists. Sophists were a group of teachers and philosophers from the
Greek colonies who flocked to Athens. They emphasized on man and his place in society with a
humanistic viewpoint. Their idea was that there were multiple truths. Just like there are multiple
senses that could tell you different things about a certain object, all being true.
I. Socrates (399 BC) – Followed the ‘Socratic Method’ where he would ask
man about his experiences, in the form of questions and illustrations which
made man recollect what he learned previously. This is much directed toward
the Scientific method; to observe, collect, and analyze. Where Observation
does fall under the empirical view. Although Socrates did not do much of the
‘Analyzing’ part, he was still proceeding to the right direction.
“Is Empiricism a way of life in the search for knowledge in the practice of
medicine, or merely one useful tool among many?” [1]. Socrates’ idea of
empiricism was merely introductory, but he questioned its power in the use of
greater things [2] this opened many doors for others to follow.
II. Epicurus (341 BC) – Founder of Epicureanism who believed that the best
life is one of long-term pleasure resulting from moderation. One must forget
about desires and be grateful for what they have. For them human concepts
were memory images that were the mental residues of previous sense
experiences [1]. Thus, knowledge was as empirical as the ideas of which it is
composed (like memory). The idea of Empiricism for Epicurus and his
followers was much more concrete and consistent than Socrates as he clearly described the
features included in the Empiricist’s view.
III. Zeno (334 BC) – Founder of Stoicism who believed that one should live
according to nature’s plan and accept one’s fate with indifference no matter
good or bad. For Stoics, the human mind gained knowledge with the addition
of sensory material to it [1], again confirming the tabula rasa concept whereby
a blank mind is filled with experience through time.
However, Zeno and his followers also believed in common or universal ideas
that was available to all humans, which contradicted their empirical view
slightly.

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The Renaissance
Then came the Renaissance, a period of time where society grew intellectually towards more
involvement of philosophy, scientific study, arts, literature, architecture, and many other themes.
Philosophy moved from theological theories and religious connotations to humanistic ones.
IV. Francis Bacon (1561) – Father of Empiricism. After the suggestive
combination of the two by philosophers before him, Bacon took the initiative
and integrated the Scientific Method ideology into Empiricism. He extended
the idea of sensory of experience being just for the knowledge of one’s mind
(individual intellect) into sensory experience that actually helped understand
external objects as well like animals and nature (external understanding).
Francis and a part of his followers also followed the principle of Radical
Empiricism [1,4] which denoted that causal information was merely
observational data that had a repetitive outcome or a high success rate keeping aside its
practicality (pragmatism). This statement allowed the world to view information in a new
manner. Radical Empiricism also stated that sensory experiences were the only knowledge
worthy of discussion as it was true and reliable knowledge [5] if it is understood only objectively
and not through relations to subjective arguments like religion or personal opinion.
Sir Francis created the ‘4 Idols of the Mind’ which brought up the errors in experiments [2]. This
explained further his idea of objectivity that external factors like personal opinion were ‘errors’
and yielded incorrect hypotheses since the individual added their own views to the logical
explanation of a thing, altering its result.

British Empiricism
V. Thomas Hobbes (1588) – Followed and friends w/ Descartes & Galileo.
Theorized that sensory experience is primary data used to gather knowledge
and then formulate ideas from that. First Source: Sense; Second Source:
formulating ideas from this. He also stated that humans worked as machines
almost automatically collecting knowledge from the environment,
contradicting Baconian theories.
Hobbes believed in Geometry and God. His views gave importance to
instilling order because it was something that was not innate. Rules, regulation, and monarchy
were such things to enforce order to society. Again, unlike Sir Francis, Hobbes focused on
Deduction over Induction [1].
VI. John Locke (1632) – Philosopher and Physician. Locke made the most influential
presentation for empiricism [1]. All knowledge was sensation, but it was also
reflection of those senses to register their understanding, a concept following
Hobbes’ theories.
He focused on Introspection and awareness of the mind, that empiricism was
an active insight. He firmly disbelieved in innate ideas though later he stated
that infants were born with a sense of “priori”[1], accepting the existence of
some innate things.

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Discussion
It is not such that as time passed, the concept of Empiricism became progressively clear. There
were many ups and downs, like every other thing in this universe, until the idea was much more
concrete.
Empiricism had always been vague. Until Francis Bacon combined Science to it and gave
Empiricism a newfound meaning. He found a greater use of empiricism that made it more than
just an idea; it was now practical. He focused on obtaining predictable information from each
observation that could be generalized to others and help understand the world in an easier
manner (Induction). This is presently linked to Qualitative research [6].
Later in the timeline and now, although Observation and Scientific Empiricism is deemed less
reliable than the Rationalistic viewpoint, it has contributed greatly to the systematic development
of research. Humans became able to extend study past just Homo Sapiens and into other
organisms and themes like non-human animals, microorganisms, and even astrologically.
Abstract ideas were gradually becoming more concrete.
Ptolemy (100 AD), for example, was not particularly an empiricist but he studied its concepts
through observational astronomy and brought about the discovery of Geocentric arrangement of
the Earth; a crucial finding without which astrology would not have advanced.
Further, it can be seen that with time, there was a significant increase of acceptance towards the
co-existence of more than one idea. Early philosophers had a trend of strongly being monists and
disregarding even the slightest inclusion of other ideas. John Locke for example claimed mainly
empirical notions and later corrected his theories to the possibility of an alternative existing. Sir
Francis also attempted to bring a middle ground between Empiricism and Rationalism much later
in his life.
Radical Empiricism was born with the help of a collection of philosophers towards the end of the
timeline [4]. This sprouted the monist mindset again, however, weaker than the ancient times [5].
Despite that, Radical Empiricism was different from Classical Empiricism as it looked past the
abstract derivation of knowledge to a more objective and again, scientific, viewpoint.
Regardless of the changes and deviations of the true meaning of Empiricism throughout the
timeline, its journey toward Science was constant, creating the ultimate Scientific Law (which
consists of: general laws, empirical events, and public observation). Each philosopher
contributed to one aspect more than the other, however, I believe that Sir Francis was the most
influential to bring about this change: thus, his title being ‘Father of Empiricism’. Philosophers
before him merely touched upon this concept, which may have aided his thought process, but he
was the person who took matters in his hands and brought about the much-needed change. If
Empiricism were never introduced to Scientific study, its reliability would have been close to nil,
keeping is as just another historical theory. And since history is full of opposing theories, his
Induction theory sparked the use of Deduction, such with Thomas Hobbes and is the Newtonian
Science that is used till today.
In conclusion, Empiricism spiraled from a small abstract idea into a tangible scientific concept. It
also grew past the monist mindset to generalizing it existence with other themes, signifying the

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sophist’s idea of multiple truths. Although its validity is still low, it has contributed greatly to the
formulation of primary research for the world of Science.

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REFERNCES

[1] Quinton M. A., Fumerton R. Retrieved from:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/empiricism/History-of-empiricism

[2] FS Blog. (2016). ‘Francis Bacon and the Four Idols of the Mind’. Retrieved from:
https://fs.blog/2016/05/francis-bacon-four-idols-mind/#:~:text=He%20called%20the
%20wide%20variety,and%20Idols%20of%20the%20Theater

[3] May, J., Baum, M., & Bewley, S. (2010). Plato's Socratic dialogues and the epistemology
of modern medicine. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 103(12), 484–489.
https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.2010.100304

[4] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019, September 13). Radical empiricism.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/radical-empiricism

[5] APA Dictionary of Psychology: ‘Radical Empiricism’. Retrieved from:

https://dictionary.apa.org/radical-empiricism

[6] Gabriel, D. (2013). Inductive and deductive approaches to research. Retrieved from:
https://deborahgabriel.com/2013/03/17/inductive-and-deductive-approaches-to-research/

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