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Full Idea
If we cannot know the truth of theories without observation, and we cannot know the truth of observations without theories, where do we start?
Gist of Idea
If theories need observation, and observations need theories, how do we start?
Source
Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.5)
Book Ref
Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.174
A Reaction
See Idea 6793. You make a few observations, under the illusion that they are objective, then formulate a promising theory, then go back and deconstruct the observations, then tighten up the theory, and so on.
Related Idea
Idea 6793 People can break into the circle of virtue and good action, by chance, or with help [Aristotle]
| 6026 | How can you investigate without some preconception of your object? [Sext.Empiricus] |
| 12109 | We must observe in order to form theories, but connected observations need prior theories [Comte] |
| 22655 | Scientific genius extracts more than other people from the same evidence [James] |
| 15880 | In physical sciences particular observations are ordered, but in biology only the classes are ordered [Harré] |
| 3858 | A full understanding of 'yellow' involves some theory [Newton-Smith] |
| 3587 | Seeing electrons in a cloud chamber requires theory [Williams,M] |
| 16851 | The inference to observables and unobservables is almost the same, so why distinguish them? [Lipton] |
| 6792 | If theories need observation, and observations need theories, how do we start? [Bird] |