ə̇mˈpirəˌsizəm, em- noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory
b. : quackery , charlatanry
2.
a. : the practice of emphasizing experience especially of the senses or the practice or method of relying upon observation, experimentation, or induction rather than upon intuition, speculation, deduction, dialectic, or other rationalistic means in the pursuit of knowledge
most research into forecasting over the past forty years has been directed at avoiding empiricism and replacing it with some sort of theory — B.W.Atkinson
b. : a tenet arrived at empirically
3.
a. : the theory associated especially with the British philosophers John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume that all knowledge originates in experience
b. : logical empiricism, radical empiricism, or scientific empiricism — compare phenomenalism , positivism , pragmatism , sensationalism