Cool quote, but in this case probably not accurate. From wikipedia:
The term became useful in order to describe differences perceived between two of its founders Francis Bacon, described as an “empiricist”, and René Descartes, who is described as a “rationalist”.
Were I obliged to give a short name to the attitude in question, I should call it that of radical empiricism, in spite of the fact that such brief nicknames are nowhere more misleading than in philosophy. I say ‘empiricism’ because it is contented to regard its most assured conclusions concerning matters of fact as hypotheses liable to modification in the course of future experience; and I say ‘radical,’ because it treats the doctrine of monism itself as an hypothesis, and, unlike so much of the half way empiricism that is current under the name of positivism or agnosticism or scientific naturalism, it does not dogmatically affirm monism as something with which all experience has got to square. The difference between monism and pluralism is perhaps the most pregnant of all the differences in philosophy. [William James, preface to “The Sentiment of Rationality” in “The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy,” 1897]
EDIT: There is some debate as to when “modern” use of the term empiricism started, the first use was at least much much older. Stanford.edu writes:
The first people to describe themselves as empiricists (empeirikoi) were a group of medical writers of the Hellenistic period. We know of these thinkers only indirectly, through the work of other ancient writers, in particular Galen of Pergamon (129–ca. 200 CE).
Cool quote, but in this case probably not accurate. From wikipedia:
From etymonline:
EDIT: There is some debate as to when “modern” use of the term empiricism started, the first use was at least much much older. Stanford.edu writes:
EDIT 2: [emphasis added]