Rationalism vs. Empiricism: Knowledge, Science, and Thought

Posted on Dec 3, 2024 in Philosophy and ethics

Rationalism

  • Source of Knowledge: Innate ideas and reason.
  • Limits of Knowledge: Not recognized.
  • Model of Science: Mathematics.
  • Method: Deductive (logical).
  • Criterion of Truth: Intellectual evidence.
  • Moral Criterion: Universal good and evil derived from reason.
  • Major Philosophers: Descartes, Spinoza.

Empiricism

  • Source of Knowledge: Experience.
  • Limits of Knowledge: Metaphysics is not knowledge.
  • Model of Science: Physics.
  • Method: Inductive (from specific observations to general rules).
  • Criterion of Truth: Experimental verification.
  • Moral Criterion: Good and bad behavior derived from experience, subject to change.
  • Major Philosophers: Locke, Hume.

Rational Construction

Rational construction is an interpretation of reality based on reason and experience. For example, understanding the Earth’s rotation.

Experience vs. Experiment

  • Experience: Spontaneous, passive, unintentional, and continuous.
  • Experiment: Triggered, active, intentional, and timely.

Conditions

  • Necessary Condition: A condition that must be met for an event to occur (e.g., water is necessary for life).
  • Sufficient Condition: A condition that, if met, guarantees an event will occur (e.g., being registered is necessary but not sufficient to pass).

Cognitive Processes

  • Laws of Perception: Innate and unchanging structures through which we perceive the world.
  • Cognitive Schemas: Learned and variable frameworks for understanding the world.
  • Illusions: Misinterpretations of stimuli.
  • Hallucinations: Perceiving something that does not exist.

Types of Thinking

Mythological Thinking

Explains the unknown through imaginary legends, subjective and anthropomorphic. It relies on the arbitrary will of gods or fate, leading to a conformist and resigned attitude.

Rational Thought

Explains the known through verifiable theories. It is objective, relies on rational methods and procedures, and views the world as ordered by laws. It emphasizes the predictability and repeatability of events and promotes an active attitude of understanding and utilizing natural laws.

Hypothetical-Deductive Method

1. Observation

Can be occasional (leading to important scientific findings) or systematic (involving planned demonstrations or laboratory experiments).

2. Hypothesis

An interpretation or explanation of facts. Criteria: a) verifiable, b) replaceable by alternative hypotheses, c) allows for future predictions.

3. Deduction of Consequences

Since hypotheses are general, simpler statements are deduced for testing.

4. Contrasting

Testing the hypothesis against facts: a) Verification: Hypothesis is true if facts align with deductions. b) Falsification: Hypothesis is provisionally accepted until refuted by facts.

Objectives of Science

a) Explanation

  • Deductive Explanation: Explains events by referring to general laws.
  • Probabilistic Explanation: Uses probabilistic laws, common in social sciences.
  • Functional-Teleological Explanation: Explains by the purpose or end result.
  • Genetic or Historical Explanation: Explains by showing the series of facts leading to the phenomenon.
  • Conceptual Explanation: Places an event under a general concept.

b) Prediction

If science can establish explanations, it can make predictions.

c) Understanding

Understanding unique historical and social facts that cannot be solely explained.

d) Application

Transforming the world, not just knowing it.

Kinds of Truth

  • Ontological: True reality, independent of the mind, opposed to illusion.
  • Moral: Agreement between what we say and think, opposed to lies.
  • Epistemological: Correspondence between thought and reality, opposed to falsehood and error.
    • Empirical (e.g., gold is yellow)
    • Formal (e.g., a = a)

Construction of Concepts

Concepts are formed through abstraction, separating common features from a plurality of objects. Concepts help us understand, classify, and make sense of reality.

Perception and Language

A rich vocabulary enhances our perception of the world, and a fine perception of reality is only possible through a rich and nuanced language. Conversely, impoverished language leads to impoverished perception.