empirista

Empirista is the term used in Spanish and Portuguese to denote a adherent of empiricism, a theory of knowledge that contends that all knowledge originates from sensory experience. Empiricists emphasize that ideas and understanding arise from impressions or observations rather than from innate ideas or purely a priori reasoning. In this framework, knowledge is largely a posteriori, while a priori claims are often regarded with skepticism unless they can be traced to experience.

Historically, empiricism is associated with the early modern period and figures such as Francis Bacon, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume. Bacon emphasized inductive methods and observation as the foundation of science, while Locke argued that the mind at birth is a blank slate and that most ideas come from experience. Berkeley denied the existence of material substance apart from perception, and Hume examined the limits of justification for induction and causation, prompting later philosophical responses, including Kant’s attempt to reconcile empiricism with some structural aspects of knowledge.

In contemporary contexts, empiricism underpins much of the scientific method and many branches of epistemology and philosophy of science. Methodological empiricism prioritizes observation and experiment in inquiry, with theories tested and revised in light of new data. The term can also describe approaches in various disciplines that emphasize empirical evidence and measurable observation over purely theoretical or a priori reasoning.