Part 1: Discussion Prompt

Please pick one of the following questions to answer for the Discussion this week:

• What exactly is Empiricism? Please provide specific examples to support your answer.
• Do you believe Locke’s primary and secondary qualities adequately explain reality as it was understood in the late 1600s? Can you think of something that exists that has no primary or secondary qualities or both?
• Why do Empiricists believe there are limits to the knowledge of reality?

Discussion Guidelines

• Three (3) posts minimum.
• The initial forum response is due by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. EST and should be a substantive response to the Discussion prompt.
• For peer replies, respond to at least two (2) classmates by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. EST and give meaningful replies that advance the Discussion.

Before you post, please thoroughly edit your writing to ensure it is professional and academic. For more details about how the initial post and peer replies are graded, see and the linked .

This Discussion aligns with the following:

Rubrics

• RAMP LD Discussion Rubric v.5

reply to:

Nissen Wk 4

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Xavier Nissen posted Feb 24, 2026 8:36 PM

Empiricism is the philosophical thought that the majority of information of the world can be gained through the senses or experiences. The word Empiricism comes from the Greek word emperia which translates to experience (Britannica). It is important to note that empiricists do not hold the belief that they hold any knowledge of any specified thing, but rather, that if knowledge can be gained it will be through experience (Markie & Folescu). Empiricists also support intuition and deduction, meaning that through the past experiences that have led to a given outcome, one can surmise the outcome of a same or similar experience. One simple example is if someone hits their hand with a hammer it will hurt, so if they were to do it again they would be able to know it would hurt again, and this is knowledge gained from a previous experience. However, if that same person were told to hit their hand with a hammer, and they had never done so before they would have no knowledge or experience of the pain that would follow. Philosopher David Hume stated that we see events in the world as related due to our past experiences and the regularity in which they were observed. Hume also summarizes that while we do not have an innate knowledge of motion we do possess the idea of a necessary connection, and it must come from somewhere (Kemerling).

References:

Definition, History, Criticism, & Facts | Britannica. Britannica, . Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.

Kemerling, Garth. Hume: Empiricist Naturalism. Hume: Epistemology, 12 Nov. 2011,

Markie, Peter, and M. Folescu. Rationalism vs. Empiricism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 2 Sept. 2021, plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/#IntuThes.

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W4 Aubrey Knowledge of Reality

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Amy Aubrey posted Feb 24, 2026 4:43 PM

Empiricists believe there are limits to humans knowledge of reality. John Locke believed that humans could only know so much of the natural world because to have true knowledge of something, you have to know its true essence. He believed that we should accept some things as good guesses and that our knowledge limitations are good enough. By recognizing our limitations, we, as humans, should turn our efforts to subjects we can learn more about, rather than waste time on those we will never truly know. He believed that we are given enough knowledge to live well as humans. However, David Hume believed that our knowledge, as humans, was limited to what we could perceive with our senses. But since our senses are fallible, like two people seeing a color in a different way, the knowledge we gain cannot be completely trusted. Hume also believed that even if all our sensory input could be trusted, the mind itself was fallible, and we could not completely trust what we take to be real. Another example of Humes limitations on knowledge is that everything has to connect back to an experience, such as a sunrise. Our experience is that the sun has risen today and every day before that. Our mind fills in that the sun will rise again tomorrow, we dont have empirical knowledge that it will.

Kemerling, G. (2011, November 12). The Limits of Knowledge. Locke guide: Limitations. https://www.philosophypages.com/locke/g05.htm#lim

David Humes empirical critique of Human Knowledge . Philosophy Institute. (2025, November 7). https://philosophy.institute/research-methodology/david-hume-empirical-critique-knowledge/

Fasko, M., & West, P. (n.d.). British empiricism . Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/british-empiricism/

Part 2:

Instructions

Assignment Directions:

Create an 8-10 slide PPT, or some other presentation, that accomplishes the following.

Choose one of the following two topics:

1. Drawing on what you know of pre-Socratic and classical philosophy (i.e., the philosophy of Socrates and Plato) and modern philosophy (i.e., the philosophy of Descartes and Locke), compare and contrast the concerns of modern and ancient philosophy. Do the ancients care about the same problems as the moderns? If not, what are the major differences between them? Can those differences be reconciled? Why or why not? If not, then which approach to philosophical questioning is the most valuable? Why?
2. Consider the debate between Rationalism and Empiricism. What are the major differences between these two traditions in their approach to the theory of knowledge and metaphysics? What are the differences in their methods and attitudes to doing philosophy? Which tradition is more convincing/more useful as an approach to seeking answers to philosophical questions and to seeking meaning in life? Why?

Present research on each tradition that clearly discusses both sides of the relevant debate. Try to favor reputable sources from the APUS library or philosophy program guide (i.e. no Wikipedia, Course Hero, Spark Notes, etc.).

Submission Instructions:

• Include a proper references/works cited slide (APA or MLA).
• Keep in mind these best practices, please:
• Proper PPTs have bullets on the slide that are explained in the notes section or include audio recordings embedded in the slides where you narrate the presentation (see the video on how to do this if you do not know how). You must provide narration for the presentation in some wayi.e., as notes or as audio recordings.
• If you intend to narrate the presentation with audio recordings, be sure to include the transcript in the notes section (see PPT on how to insert audio if you do not know and want to give that a shot).
• If, for any reason, you are unable to access the notes section, put the transcript/notes in a numbered list in MS Word with the numbers matching the slide.
• Keep the viewer in mind (teacher). While you might work hard on a 20-minute presentation, few faculty members have the time to watch or listen to it.
• Just like papers, clear citations must appear on the slide, i.e., where an audience viewing your presentation would naturally be able to see the citation to justify listing a resource as a reference.

This Assignment aligns with the following:

• Course Objectives
• Learning Objectives

Resources & Supports

• You have free access as an APUS student. Sign in with your MyCampus Email credentials.
• : Watch this 3-minute video if you need guidance on submitting your Assignment.
• Resource with a video on inserting audio.
• APUS Style Guide: – Select your style guide based on your program of study (or MLA).

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