OBSERVATION IS THEORY LADEN

In philosophy of science the word 'observation' refers to any sense perception -- seeing, touching, smelling, etc.

The phrase 'theory ladenness' means full of theory. So the idea of theory ladenness means that observations already have in them preconceived ideas. The ideas are expectations that influence what a scientist observes. Where do these expectations come from?

     
Personal experiences
Cultural perspectives Educational training, etc.
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give rise to		 Expectations
     
  • Expectations structure or organize what you perceive. They're in the brain's neural pathways and a part of what comes into play when the brain interprets what's going on. Gestalts are brought into play.
  • The expectations are part of the theory that one believes when selecting (often unconsciously) what to observe and how to observe it.
  • Thus, seeing an object is seeing it as a certain kind of thing. How you classify and interpret it depends on the paradigm or schema you take for granted.
  • For science then, finding the so-called "facts" is not as clear cut as we may think. Experiments, i.e., formal observation in science, are interpreted according to the expectations that the scientist brings to her or his work.

The belief that observation is theory laden leads to a rejection of positivism for many philosophers. Here's their argument:

  • If observation is theory laden, sense experience cannot conclusively prove a theory true or false.
  • Therefore, we may be mistaken.
  • Therefore, knowledge is not certain.
  • Therefore, knowledge is fallible. (The position of fallibilism)

Remember:

In science theories are products of collectives; thus, theory ladenness is based in groups' observations, not individuals'.

Statements often used by students misinterpreting what theory ladenness is:

  • Everyone perceives everything differently.
  • Everyone is different and has had different experiences which will cause them to see everything differently than anyone else.
  • No two people have the same observation. (This is trivially true)

These sentences are wrong because they make theory ladenness equal individualist relativism. Observation is not simply relative to the individual!

The thesis of theory ladenness is important to apply to everyday life and schooling:

Every curriculum is constructed through a set of emphases and exclusions; and every one is shot through with and predicated on certain values. The questions are: Which values? Whose exclusions? And therefore, whose emphasis? (Stuart Hall)

A discipline defines its own realm of truth which excludes everything that does not fit. (Michel Foucault)

Gestalt psychology

Gestalt psychologists believe that mental life cannot be reduced to individual units of perception.

I look out my window and see a house, some trees, the sky. On theoretical grounds I could say: There are 327 brightnesses and color tones. But do I experience 327? No. (Wundt, 1923)

 

The various pieces of information picked up by the sense organs are inevitably brought together by the mind, and then something new emerges. The something, the Gestalt (the German word for "form" or "pattern"), is different from and more valuable than the individual elements that make it up. In other word, the gestaltists believed that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." A film, for example, is made up of many still photos, each slightly different from the others. When we put them together in rapid succession, however, we see not a series of still photos, but motion. (From the textbook Psychology by C. Wortman and E. Loftus)

 

 

snycorva.cortland.edu/~russellk
Created by Kathryn Russell
 SUNY Cortland - Philosophy
Last modified on 8-27-01