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Empiricism
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophy</a>, empiricism is an <a href="/facts/Epistemology/NsDwpcYH">epistemological view</a> which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from <a href="/facts/Sense/n9kYQ3rf">sensory experience</a> and <a href="/facts/Empirical_evidence/JUaYSGJc">empirical evidence</a>. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along with <a href="/facts/Rationalism/MNk171TG">rationalism</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophical_skepticism/xsNp72xg">skepticism</a>. Empiricists argue that empiricism is a more reliable method of finding the truth than purely using <a href="/facts/Logical_reasoning/NwR4hQva">logical reasoning</a>, because humans have cognitive <a href="/facts/Bias/geuh5KrE">biases</a> and limitations which lead to errors of judgement. Empiricism emphasizes the central role of empirical evidence in the formation of ideas, rather than <a href="/facts/Innate_idea/7FznTuwN">innate ideas</a> or <a href="/facts/Traditions/5qkV7G2A">traditions</a>. Empiricists may argue that traditions (or customs) arise due to relations of previous sensory experiences. </p><p>Historically, empiricism was associated with the "<a href="/facts/Blank_slate/esxlgDCh">blank slate</a>" concept (<i>tabula rasa</i>), according to which the human mind is "blank" at birth and develops its thoughts only through later experience. </p><p>Empiricism in the <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_science/aonsfhTY">philosophy of science</a> emphasizes evidence, especially as discovered in <a href="/facts/Experiment/esltM54f">experiments</a>. It is a fundamental part of the <a href="/facts/Scientific_method/182j8RWE">scientific method</a> that all hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on <i><a href="/facts/A_priori_(philosophy)/C567SkcV">a priori</a></i> reasoning, <a href="/facts/Intuition_(knowledge)/Mshu0Vxb">intuition</a>, or <a href="/facts/Revelation/xMygzvLv">revelation</a>. </p><p>Empiricism, often used by <a href="/facts/Natural_Scientists/8hg81Q2p">natural scientists</a>, believes that "knowledge is based on experience" and that "knowledge is tentative and probabilistic, subject to continued revision and <a href="/facts/Falsifiability/IlxN7cYB">falsification</a>". Empirical research, including experiments and validated measurement tools, guides the scientific method. </p>