All this does not imply that observations are theory-dependent whereas theories are observation-independent. Theories and observations depend on each other. All this only implies that positivists were wrong in claiming that observations are theory-independent.

Thus, no observation is presuppositionless as positivists thought. An observation is not a passive reception constitution the beginning of knowledge, but involves the active participation of our cognitive faculties characterized by purposiveness, prior knowledge and expectations. After all, observations are not “given” but are “made”.


Notes and References

1. Edited by Floreian Cojorie, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1934, p. 274

2. A System of Logic , Book III, Chapter 9, Sec. 6

3. Ibid.

4. For a detailed description and criticism of Mill's methods, see Copi, Irving M. Introduction to Logic , Macmillan Pub. Co. , 1982 edition, pp. 409-441

5. Karl Popper, The Poverty of Historicism , Routledge and Kegan Paul, London , 1957, p. 121

6. Quoted in N.R. Hanson: Observation and Explanation: A Guide to Philosophy of Science , George Allen and Unwin, London , 1972, p. 4