This chapter introduces empiricism: philosophies of science based on the notion that science is based on observations of facts, from which generalisations can be made. A short piece of fiction is first used to illustrate this notion. Building on this story, the methods of Francis Bacon are described as a prominent example of early empiricism. This is followed by a brief treatment of positivism and its influence on different branches of science and on society. Some possible limitations for empiricism are outlined, in particular the theory-dependence and fallibility of observations. It is argued that observing without theory is inefficient as a scientific method, since we then do not know which observations are relevant. The chapter concludes with a section acknowledging that despite its limitations, empiricism still has an important role to play in science, and the limitations are revisited in an attempt to explain this.