Philosophical Methods and Criteria of Truth
Empirical Method
The empirical method also began in the modern age with the current known as “empiricism,” whose most prominent representative was Hume (18th century). Empiricism considers two kinds of truth that human knowledge can access:
- Truths of reason: Based on the deduction of a set of principles from others. These are only rational operations; hence, they can aspire to be correct and infallible, but they do not provide information about external reality.
- Truths of fact: Characteristic of empirical science, these provide information about what happens in the world. Their truth or falsity can only be verified through experience, and hence experience is the only possible source of knowledge. They are based on induction, which allows us, from the cases seen in experience, to make claims about the regular behavior of what is observed.
The problem with radical empiricism, like Hume’s, is that general statements to which this knowledge method is applied can never be definitively checked. Rigorously applying this method, one can only be sure of what one is observing or receiving. All information that seeks to go beyond sensitive data is based on “habit and belief.”
Transcendental Method
Kant is an example: his solution provides a new method for philosophy: the transcendental method. His explanation is based on a meliorist synthesis of empiricism and rationalism. Not everything comes from reason, nor everything from the senses. The possibility of knowledge must be sought in the subject and its way of knowing, for transactions and judgments made when reaching conclusions (laws) are true and universal, forming the model of Newtonian physics.
The conclusion that comes after this analysis is that experience is absolutely necessary, as empiricism claimed, but human reason applies a number of categories or principles to that data, which are innate.
Methods and Models of Philosophical Knowledge (II)
Linguistic Analytical Method
The linguistic analytical method emerged in the 20th century, in the context of neo-positivism, also called “philosophy of language.” Language is the mode of expression of human life. Hence, it must be the starting point for any reflection. Language has several uses, each with its own rules. Wittgenstein, one of the main representatives of this philosophy, called these “language games.” Problems arise when uses and rules are not used correctly.
According to neo-positivist thinkers, philosophy seeks to apply the rules of the scientific use of language to realities beyond empirical data. Therefore, the fundamental task of philosophy is to clarify and explain the uses of language and its limits and possibilities. Philosophy becomes a kind of “judge-court” that determines whether or not uses are correct and legitimate.
Criteria of Truth
Some basic criteria that help us analyze and decide on the various philosophical theories, given the plurality of views, are:
- Descriptive philosophical theories (using the phenomenological method) must meet the following: descriptions should be objective, thorough, systematic, and accurate.
- The descriptions have to incorporate the knowledge of other sciences; otherwise, they may be naive and superficial.
- The concepts used should be well-defined, and it should be clear whether they are merely descriptive or refer to any real property of things.
- When theories address reality, they should be tested.
- A philosophical theory must have internal consistency and external coherence, i.e., be compatible with what scientific theories tell us.
- The ability of a theory to criticize others, and to address the criticisms made against it, is a sign of assurance.
- Any theory allows us to draw conclusions from it that may also be subject to criticism.
- Philosophy, as a humanization of reality, must justify its validity for the way it conceives that humanization. The most important case of this task will be studied when discussing ethical creation.