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=                             Empiricism                             =
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                             Introduction
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In philosophy, empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes
only or primarily from sensory experience.  It is one of several views
of  epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism
and skepticism. Empiricism emphasises the role of empirical evidence
in the formation of ideas, rather than innate ideas or traditions.
However, empiricists may argue that traditions (or customs) arise due
to relations of previous sense experiences.

Empiricism in the philosophy of science emphasises evidence,
especially as discovered in experiments. It is a fundamental part of
the scientific method that all hypotheses and theories must be tested
against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely
on 'a priori' reasoning, intuition, or revelation.

Empiricism, often used by natural scientists, says that "knowledge is
based on experience" and that "knowledge is tentative and
probabilistic, subject to continued revision and falsification".
Empirical research, including experiments and validated measurement
tools, guides the scientific method.


                              Etymology
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The English term 'empirical' derives from the Ancient Greek word