nonempirical
Beyond direct experience
Nonempirical describes knowledge or methods not based on observation or experiment.
Philosophy, mathematics, and logic are nonempirical disciplines—their truths derive from reasoning rather than sensory evidence.
The existence of God is a nonempirical question.
Contrast with empirical, which requires testing against observable facts.
Philosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- a prioriIndependent of experience
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
idealism · phenomenology · transcendental · Kant · Plato · Descartes · Leibniz · pure reason
Guess from limited facts
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- guessworkConclusions drawn without proof
- postulationAssuming something as given
surmise · armchair · thought experiment · imagination · ideation · hypothesis · untested · unfalsifiable
Accepted without question
- deductiveDeriving specifics from generals
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- propositionalOf logical statements
- logicalBased on valid reasoning
mathematical · formal · syllogistic · theorems · proofs · modeling · inference · abstraction
Trust without proof
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- mysticalOf hidden spiritual significance
- transcendentExceeding usual boundaries
- divineOf or from gods
theological · religious · supernatural · metaphysical · numinous · sacred · esoteric · gnostic
Arising without conscious thought
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- innateExisting since birth
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
self-evident · intuition · tacit · implicit · felt sense · nonrational
metaphysics
Philosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- a prioriIndependent of experience
rationalism · idealism · phenomenology · transcendental · Kant · Plato · Descartes · Leibniz · pure reason · first principles
conjecture
Guess from limited facts
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- guessworkConclusions drawn without proof
postulation · surmise · armchair · thought experiment · imagination · ideation · hypothesis · untested · unfalsifiable · unverified
axiomatic
Accepted without question
- deductiveDeriving specifics from generals
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- propositionalOf logical statements
logical · mathematical · formal · syllogistic · theorems · proofs · modeling · inference · abstraction · derivation
faith
Trust without proof
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- mysticalOf hidden spiritual significance
- transcendentExceeding usual boundaries
divine · theological · religious · supernatural · metaphysical · numinous · sacred · esoteric · gnostic · visionary
instinctive
Arising without conscious thought
introspection · self-evident · intuition · tacit · implicit · felt sense · nonrational
nonempiricalempirical
Based on observation, not theory
experiential · observational · experimental · evidence-based · data-driven
nonempiricalempirical
Based on observation, not theory
experimental · observational · scientific · objective · testable
empirical, empiricism, empirically, empiricist, empiricists, unempirical