Empirical experience is a concept that is characteristic not only for psychology, but also for other areas of life. In this article, you will learn what it is, and most importantly, why this phrase is not the most correct. If you are wondering what is empirical experience, empirical method and so on, then this article is for you.
What does "empirical" mean?
It's worth starting with the fact that empirical experience is a kind of tautology that is sometimes allowed to be used. The fact is that "empirical" means "knowable by experience." Accordingly, it would be more correct to use the phrase "empirical method" rather than "empirical experience". However, this does not change the essence - if we are talking about something empirical, then this means that something is learned empirically, and not through studying other people's conclusions, for example, by reading books, encyclopedias, watching educational programs, and so on.
Experiential learning
Empirical method is a method of learning in which information comes exclusively through independent direct study of the subject of interest. Simply put, the essence of this method is to trydoing something on your own, the expression "trial and error" is often used. Most often, this method does not involve the participation of any teacher or mentor in the process, that is, a person must himself study a topic of interest to him, an object of interest to him, and so on.
However, in some cases it is helpful to have another person involved in the process who can help you analyze the empirical experience. If the training in accordance with this method is correctly built and planned, then it can give incredible results. However, there is also the other side of the coin - if the organization of learning through experience is not organized correctly, you can make frequent mistakes that will discourage you from further study. Accordingly, this method is not as simple as many people imagine.
Empirical knowledge
If we talk about the empirical method, it is impossible not to mention empirical knowledge. This is a term that is used to describe lower-level rational knowledge, that is, what a person has experienced in his own experience, but has not yet been able to analyze. It is with empirical knowledge that the construction of human knowledge begins. First, he learns something through experience, and then he begins to analyze, rationalize, come up with ways to use it, and so on. However, it is empirical knowledge that is the lowest level from which everything begins.
Psychological use
Of course, don't forgetwhich also describes empirical experience in psychology. Within the framework of this science, empiricism as such is characterized by the posing of the question that the value of human knowledge is closely dependent on the experience from which specific knowledge originated. It is believed that the data obtained through the empirical method are reliable, because the source is direct experience. However, one should not think that it is necessary to limit oneself exclusively to the empirical method in cognition - other approaches are also very important and play their role in the formation of full-fledged human cognition.
As a matter of fact, it is in psychology that empirical knowledge is opposed to theoretical knowledge, the essence of which is to obtain information not through experience, but through literature, stories, audio and video recordings, as well as all sorts of other sources from which you can get ready-made information, which does not require learning by experience, because someone has already done this before.
