Scientific Method and Empiricism
Critically discuss the concepts of empiricism and empirical methods and their use in geography.
Empiricism is a philosophical doctrine that our knowledge only comes from experiences. It can be described as a central role of observation. Empiricism was eventually somewhat replaced around the 1970’s by Positivism, Humanism, Marxist, Feminism and Post-Colonialism. However it still plays an important role today’s society, for example in the cataloguing of species. There is about 1.7 million species are known to science, there is an estimated range of 4 to 20 million total species. 10,000 new invertebrates are found each year. There has been over 1000 new species discovered in the Mekong region alone in the last decade.
Empiricism is based on a reliance of the senses; however there is a major emphasis on visual observation in particular. The mind is conveyed as a clean tablet (slate) or ‘tabula rasa’; it should not be subjected to any predisposition. This term was coined by Aristotle, what the mind thinks must be in it in the same sense as letters are on a tablet, which bears no actual writing; in the case of the mind this is what is believed to happen. (Aristotle, On the Soul, 3.4.430a1). a blank mind with no influence of previous experiences can look at something with an open mind, how it really is, instead of how that person wants to see it.
John Locke, who was a leading philosopher of British Empiricism, said that “there is nothing in the mind but what there is nothing in the mind but what entered it by way of the senses”. This perfectly conveys the concept of Empiricism. It is not performed for the sake of the collection for data; it is carried out with reference to theory and concepts. It is much more hands on experience than studying someone else’s hypothesis’ of a situation. The person carrying out the investigation as I have previously mentioned is not influenced by any other elements.
Sauer stated that ‘geographical knowledge rests upon disciplined
Empiricism is a philosophical doctrine that our knowledge only comes from experiences. It can be described as a central role of observation. Empiricism was eventually somewhat replaced around the 1970’s by Positivism, Humanism, Marxist, Feminism and Post-Colonialism. However it still plays an important role today’s society, for example in the cataloguing of species. There is about 1.7 million species are known to science, there is an estimated range of 4 to 20 million total species. 10,000 new invertebrates are found each year. There has been over 1000 new species discovered in the Mekong region alone in the last decade.
Empiricism is based on a reliance of the senses; however there is a major emphasis on visual observation in particular. The mind is conveyed as a clean tablet (slate) or ‘tabula rasa’; it should not be subjected to any predisposition. This term was coined by Aristotle, what the mind thinks must be in it in the same sense as letters are on a tablet, which bears no actual writing; in the case of the mind this is what is believed to happen. (Aristotle, On the Soul, 3.4.430a1). a blank mind with no influence of previous experiences can look at something with an open mind, how it really is, instead of how that person wants to see it.
John Locke, who was a leading philosopher of British Empiricism, said that “there is nothing in the mind but what there is nothing in the mind but what entered it by way of the senses”. This perfectly conveys the concept of Empiricism. It is not performed for the sake of the collection for data; it is carried out with reference to theory and concepts. It is much more hands on experience than studying someone else’s hypothesis’ of a situation. The person carrying out the investigation as I have previously mentioned is not influenced by any other elements.
Sauer stated that ‘geographical knowledge rests upon disciplined