Quote Originally Posted by Ath View Post
You seem knowledgeable. So mind explaining why this is - is it a lack of funding which fuels the current reign of empiricism?
Well there's a long (kind of boring) philosophical history behind it. As for the modern scientific community's current embracing of empiricism; it stems from the simple demand of tangible evidence produced to support theories. With emphasis on tangible (things that can be perceived via the 5 senses) evidence that can be measured experimentally and replicated with the same results. Perhaps a lack of funding could explain why scientists are primarily staying within "practical" limits, but for the sake of cogency people want things that are proven and known to work. Science wants to stay away from so-called "explanatory fictions" and wants to stick to the facts.