empiricism

n. empirical method, doctrine that all knowledge is based on observation and experience; application of observation and experiment; (Medicine) medicine that is based exclusively on experience

In philosophy generally, empiricism is a theory of knowledge emphasizing the role of experience, especially sensory perception, in the formation of ideas, while discounting the notion of innate ideas.In the philosophy of science, empiricism is a theory of knowledge which emphasizes those aspects of scientific knowledge that are closely related to experience, especially as formed through deliberate experimental arrangements. It is a fundamental requirement of scientific method that all hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations of the natural world, rather than resting solely on a priori reasoning, intuition, or revelation. Hence, science is considered to be methodologically empirical in nature.
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(n.)
The philosophical theory which attributes the origin of all our knowledge to experience.
  

(n.)
The method or practice of an empiric; pursuit of knowledge by observation and experiment.
  

(n.)
Specifically, a practice of medicine founded on mere experience, without the aid of science or a knowledge of principles; ignorant and unscientific practice; charlatanry; quackery.
  

philosophical theory, considering experience as the only source of knowledge

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In its strong form, the thesis that there is no reality behind appearances. Thus, it is the job of science to catalog the formal relations which hold between appearances without claims of describing reality. See phenomenalism 
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