radical empiricism
Americannoun
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(in the philosophy of William James) the doctrine that the only proper subject matter of philosophy is that which can be defined in terms of experience, and that relations are a part of experience.
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Origin of radical empiricism
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And the best way to get at Absolute Truth is simply to drop all thought and pay close attention to immediate perception, aka Zen meditation, aka radical empiricism.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2018
A rat-a-tat of surprising results over the past few years has supported this radical empiricism and done a lot to challenge traditional dualist philosophy.
From Slate • Nov. 24, 2014
This, it seems to me, breaks down radical empiricism, which I hate to do; and I can't yet clearly see my way out of the quandary.
From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William
They will assuredly not be disappointed if they open their minds to what the thicker and more radical empiricism has to say.
From A Pluralistic Universe Hibbert Lectures at Manchester College on the Present Situation in Philosophy by James, William
It is a reasonable sounding state of mind, but it is exactly the state of mind which radical empiricism, by its doctrine of the reality of conjunctive relations, seeks to dispel.
From Essays in Radical Empiricism by James, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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