I think we are really in for it; batten down the hatches and look to the empirical discoveries, mes amies.
He also argues that grounding moral values in claims about a blank slate opens them to the possibility of being overturned by future empirical discoveries.
(If they are not right, then we need have no qualms about using the word 'I' in the absence of inward empirical discoveries.)
What if it were simply an empirical discovery?
The roots of modern pharmacology lie in the empirical discoveries of the past century, when medical men found that single therapeutic agents could effect seemingly miraculous cures.
This means that the elements which comprise this theory are not based on hypothesis but on empirical discovery.
The empirical discovery leads to understanding the general characteristics of natural processes.
In contrast, the supporters of the "degenerative" program do not make important new empirical discoveries, but instead mostly apply adjustments to their theory in order to defend it from competitors.
Smith has called this the single most important empirical discovery of his career.
Auxiliary hypotheses are considered expendable by the adherents of the research programme - they may be altered or abandoned as empirical discoveries require in order to 'protect' the 'hard core'.