CF Dictionary · Critical Rationalism Terms
Strong Empiricism (CR critique)
The view that all knowledge comes from sense experience. CR shows this fails to explain its own claims.
Strong empiricism is the view that all knowledge comes from sense experience — that ideas not derived from observation are meaningless or unjustified. CR critiques this as self-undermining.
The strong empiricist position
- Knowledge = observation.
- Theories = generalisations from observations.
- Anything else = speculation.
CR's critique
- The claim "all knowledge comes from experience" is not itself an observation. It's a theoretical claim about epistemology.
- Induction is impossible. See induction.
- Scientific theories are not derived from observation. They're creative conjectures tested against observation.
The CR alternative
CR offers a different picture:
- Theories are conjectures, not derivations.
- They are tested by observation (scientific-testing).
- Their success is evidence they're close to true, but not proof.
- Non-empirical criticism is essential — logic, mathematics, and reasoning are crucial.
CF's view
CF extends CR's critique:
- Math is real knowledge without being empirical.
- Logic is real knowledge without being empirical.
- CF itself is non-empirical — it's argued for from the regress argument, not from observation.
"Strong empiricism criticism" is one of CF's enumerated CR-specific concepts. — criticalfallibilism.com