The empirical emphasis of today's psychology reflects the discipline's debt to the philosopher:

The empirical emphasis of today's psychology reflects the discipline's debt to the philosopher Plato. Plato thought we should not rely on our senses to acquire knowledge about the world, since the world that is given to us by our senses is an imperfect copy of reality. To acquire true knowledge, we should rely on thought and reason, not on information that comes to us through imperfect senses.