Skip to main content

What is Empiricism?

Empiricism is the philosophy that all knowledge originates in experience and observations. It’s a cornerstone of the scientific method and underlies much of modern science and medicine.

Among philosophers, empiricism is contrasted with rationalism, where rationalism is the perspective that knowledge is developed by reason, analysis or thinking things through.

When agilists refer to empiricism, we are simply recognizing that there are categories of problems that are too complex to be solved by reason or analysis alone. While simple problems are straightforward to solve, complex problems require that we experiment our way to the solution.

In the context of Scrum, empiricism refers to the idea that solving complex problems, or doing complex work, can only be done using an exploratory process rather than relying on predetermined plans. 

 


Resources:

Blog Post
It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, and yet we engage in an unconscious fiction of predictability every day. We work in an uncertain world, and our main goal in pursuing agility is to confront the unknown, and in doing so, to mast...
4.7 from 469 ratings

 

Blog Post
If you’re a newcomer to all of this, you might be asking yourself: What is Agile even all about? How can organizations such as your own profit from becoming more agile?
4.6 from 14 ratings

What did you think about this content?


Included In

Learning Series
In Scrum, empiricism refers to the idea that solving complex problems, or doing complex work, can only be done using an exploratory process rather than relying on predetermined plans. Learn about empiricism and complex work. Explore why trust is important for empiricism to thrive.