Posted: Feb 08, 2019 5:12 am
Macdoc wrote:more isms of no consequence '. .... basic math has been around since the zero and underpins science....so what....all you do by invoking philosophy in discussion of the scientific body of knowledge is leave the door open for Jamists et al.
I don't know how empiricism can possibly leave the door open for woo-mongers. Empiricism is a branch of epistemology. Epistemology is not metaphysics, let alone theology. It is the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge. Regardless of whether a scientist acknowledges empiricism, or even acknowledges that it exists he/she cannot science without using the method it describes; Observe and gather empirical observations and induce general laws from them.
There is of course a problem with the process, most famously formulated by David Hume, but it remains the best foundation for scientific knowledge we have. As long as we remain aware of the limitations of empiricism, it is enough to say: "It works".