Rationalism In Hockey

In the debate between the two schools of epistemology, rationalism and empiricism, I am incline to follow the philosophies of the school of rationalism. The advantage of rationalism is that it relies solely on logic and reason to seek absolute truths. Empiricism’s flaw is that it relies merely on sensory observation to seek conclusions, which are subjective and can be deceptive. Many times I have been mislead by my senses, making me hesitant to trust empirical observations. I trust logic and reason over my own sensory observations when making conclusions in my own life. In the NHL, there has been a large movement due to advancement in technology, to adapt rationalism philosophies over empiricism. Rationalism is imperfect due to the interpretation …show more content…
For many years, hockey leagues and scouts have judged player’s values and the roles they suit. Scouts have coined the empiricism evaluation “the eyeball test”. As technology has developed, leagues and teams have begun to record the mathematical data of players. This data includes, personal shots, shot attempts, passes, scoring chances, give-aways, take-aways, penalties drawn, as well as many other statistics. Hockey analytics, who have a degree in mathematics, now create formulas using the data to better understand what makes individual players successful. The success of teams that have followed the philosophies of rationalism, like the Chicago Blackhawks, has started a movement to abandon the traditional empirical approach. The rationalism approach has helped the Blackhawks win three league titles in the past six years. Hockey teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, have recently invested millions of dollars in buying analytic companies to help gain a rationalism insight on players. Teams lacking in the rationalism approach are susceptible to over paying players, as well as under-evaluating players and letting them sign larger contracts with other teams. The rationalism movement in hockey has shown that the philosophy of rationalism is the most effective way to formulate conclusions on player …show more content…
Rationalism uses logic and reason to formulate truths. Empiricism is lacking at formulating truths due to the subjective nature of sensory observation. I have observed that all five of my own senses have misled me, and have been responsible for untrue conclusions. I have found better use of using rationalism to form conclusions in my everyday life. Organizations, such as the NHL, have adopted rationalism philosophies to better evaluate player worth. Empiricism can be misleading through the imperfections of our senses, while rationalism can find absolute truths, inclining me towards the philosophies of