Dogmatic Rationalism and Empiricism
Channel: Steve Patterson
Date: 2017-09-14

It's easy for rationalists and empiricists to slip into dogmatic thinking. The rationalists tend to dismiss data that doesn't accord with their theories, and the empiricists tend to dismiss theories that don't accord with their data.

Both are wrong. The purpose of seeking the truth is to best develop theories that accord with our experiences. Experience does not come pre-packaged with correct theoretical interpretations. Data does not speak for itself. But, data and experience are the fundamental phenomena that our theories try to explain.

Theories that have no connection to experience have lost their connection to reality. Even the highest level of abstract reasoning should be able to be ultimately grounded in some experienced phenomena - even if the experience is of our own concepts.

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