The hottest Empiricism Substack posts right now

David Hume believed that our knowledge comes from outside through observation, not from within through reason.
Empiricists trust that the material world has structure through cause and effect, but Hume questioned the certainty of this trust.
Deductions provide logical certainty, while inductions offer general rules based on probability.

The British empiricists of the Enlightenment period believed in the importance of language referencing clear ideas derived from sensory experiences.
Richards's philosophy of rhetoric emphasizes the central role of misunderstanding and the inevitability of metaphor in language.
Language, thought, and reality are interconnected but distinct, with metaphor playing a crucial role in conveying complex ideas beyond literal terms.

The will to power is a metaphysical doctrine similar to Heraclitus' Logos and Schopenhauer's primacy of the will.
Nietzsche's will to power aims to promote and justify the flourishing of life, opposing pessimistic philosophies like Schopenhauer.
The will to power is based on empirical findings in biology and psychology, generalizing to explain all aspects of life.

Scientists should consider multiple models to explain natural phenomena and not cling to a single theory. Even if an old idea isn't widely accepted anymore, it could still hold value.
Inductive reasoning, based on observations, and deductive reasoning, based on theories, are both vital in scientific discovery. They work together to help us understand the world better.
Our understanding of science evolves over time, with new ideas replacing or revisiting old ones. It's essential to stay open-minded and not assume today's beliefs are the ultimate truth.

Philosophy originally aimed to define things, but this approach faced challenges.
Conceptual analysis has experienced failures and limitations over time.
The nature of concepts is explored to understand them more deeply.

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The author is reevaluating their beliefs about the impact of PUFAs and protein on weight gain based on personal experiences and observations.
The author is considering the concept of a weight-homeostat and the potential factors influencing metabolism and weight regulation.
The author emphasizes the importance of empirical evidence and being open to adjusting beliefs based on new information and outcomes from experiments.

When facing uncertainty, it's better to run small and cheap experiments instead of committing to a big strategy. This keeps you flexible.
A good experiment must have a clear hypothesis, provide useful insights whether it fails or succeeds, and be designed to be sneaky so organizations don’t resist it.
Experimenting helps you learn and get clarity when things are unclear. It's a practical way to tackle problems without getting stuck.

The author worked on the discussed problems for 30 years, gaining a deep understanding before diving into specific terminology.
Understanding the jargon allowed the author to quickly progress in relating logical paradigms to philosophical problems.
Nesting the conceptual framework inside pragmatic empiricism produced similar results, while nesting pragmatic empiricism within the framework expanded capabilities.

Neil deGrasse Tyson's arrogance and lack of curiosity make him a poor spokesperson for scientists.
Tyson dismisses the role of philosophy in physics over the last century, leading to a contentious interview.
Tyson's defensiveness, arrogance, and focus on trivial facts overshadow meaningful discussions on important scientific topics.

Science relies on experimentation and observation to explain phenomena, and repetition is key.
There are phenomena that science has not yet explained, showing the limits of human knowledge.
It's important to differentiate between beliefs based on observable facts and those based on speculation, like the sixth sense, and to value scientific methods for their proven success in understanding and improving the world.

Francis Bacon emphasized empiricism, believing that knowledge should be based on observation and experience rather than theory or speculation, paving the way for the scientific method.
Bacon made significant contributions to inductive reasoning, focusing on drawing conclusions from specific observations and using patterns to make generalizations about nature, which became a core component of modern scientific research.
Bacon's works laid the foundation for modern science by prioritizing observation, experimentation, and systematic inductive reasoning over speculative theories, shaping our current understanding of knowledge acquisition.