Empiricism

Bradley Bowden

Chapter 47 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Historical Organisation Studies, 2026, pp 174-178 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Empiricism stands alongside idealism as one of the two great research strands. Whereas idealism can be traced back through the German idealist school to Plato, empiricism owes it origins to Plato's student, Aristotle. In Aristotle's view, knowledge is based on our senses and observation. Subsequently, the Scottish philosopher, David Hume, argued that the only thing of which we can be sure is that similar effects produce similar results. Hume's sceptical empiricism is, however, considered as unduly restrictive by other exponents of empiricism, such as Karl Popper who emphasises the importance of guiding theses as a basis for evidence testing.

Keywords: Empiricism; Idealism; Aristotle; David Hume; Karl Popper; Logic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332922
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