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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
For a radical empiricism, knowledge would consist of descriptive generalizations based upon the summation of instances.
From The Approach to Philosophy by Perry, Ralph Barton
Here is another contribution to my radical empiricism, which I send hot on the heels of the last one.
From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
