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Why did Empiricism become less popular during the 19th century?

Brian Monget

Well, from my limited understanding and research, I think Empiricism became less popular in the 19th century for various reasons. One of the main reasons was due to the rise of Romanticism and Idealism during that time period. These philosophical movements emphasized intuition, subjectivity, imagination, and emotions rather than just relying on sensory experiences and observations. The Romantic poets, for example, celebrated the natural world, individualism, and the power of the imagination, putting little value on reason and empirical evidence. As a result, Empiricism seemed too limited and inadequate to account for the complexities of human experience and creativity.

Furthermore, the Industrial Revolution and technological advancements of the 19th century also played a role in the decline of Empiricism. With the rise of science and technology, people began to view the world as more complex and mechanistic, and focused more on experimenting and testing hypotheses using scientific methodology rather than solely relying on observation and sense experiences. This shift also led to the rise of positivism, a philosophy that believed in the objective and scientific knowledge of the world.

In addition, the critiques of Empiricism by philosophers like Immanuel Kant and David Hume also contributed to its decline. Kant argued that our knowledge of the world is shaped by our perception and understanding, and that there are limits to what we can know through our senses alone. Hume, on the other hand, questioned the reliability of induction, which is crucial to Empiricism’s scientific method, and argued that causality cannot be observed directly. These critiques challenged the foundations of Empiricism and forced thinkers to reconsider how we acquire knowledge about the world.

Overall, it seems that Empiricism became less popular during the 19th century due to various factors such as changing philosophical trends, scientific advancements, and critiques from other philosophers. However, it’s important to note that Empiricism still has its place in modern philosophy and science, and its contributions to the fields of epistemology, ethics, and metaphysics should not be overlooked.