The
speaker claims that all
observation is
subjective-colored by desire and expectation.While it would be tempting to concede that we all see things differently, carefulscrutiny of the speaker''s
claim reveals that it confuses observation with
interpretation.In fact, in the end the speaker''s claim relies entirely on the further claim thatthere is no such thing as truth and that we cannot truly know anything. While thisnotion might appeal to certain existentialists and epistemologists, it runs against thegrain of all scientific discovery and knowledge gained over the last 500 years.It would be tempting to afford the speaker''s claim greater merit than it deserves.After all, our everyday experience as humans informs us that we often disagree aboutwhat we
observe around us.We''ve all uttered and heard uttered many times the phase"That''s not the way I see it!" Indeed, everyday
observations-for example, aboutwhether a football player was out of bounds, or about which car involved in an accidentran the red light-vary depending not only on one''s spatial perspective but alsoon one''s expectations or desires. If I''m rooting for one football team, or if the playeris well-known for his ability to make great plays while barely staying in bounds, mydesires or expectations might influence what I think I observe. Or if I am driving oneof the cars in the accident, or if one car is a souped-up sports car, then my desires orexpectations will in all likelihood color my perception of the accident''s events.However, these sorts of subjective"observations"are actually subjective "interpretations"of what we observe. Visitors to an art museum might disagree about thebeauty of a particular work, or even about which color predominates in that work. Ina court trial several jurors might view the same videotape evidence many times, yetsome jurors might "observe" an incident of police brutality, while othersUobservet"h eappropriate use of force to restrain a dangerous individuaLThus, when it comes tomaking judgments about what we observe and about remembering what we observe, each person''s individual perspective,values, and even emotions help form thesejudgments and recollections. It is crucial to distinguish between interpretations suchas these and observation, which is nothing more than a sensory experience. Giventhe same spatial perspective and sensory acuity and awareness, it seems to me thatour observations would all be essentially in accord-that is, observation can be objective.Lending credence to my position is Francis Bacon''s scientific method, according towhich we can know only that which we observe, and thus all truth must be based onempirical observation.This profoundly important principle serves to expose and stripaway all subjective interpretation of observation, thereby revealing objective scientifictruths. For example, up until Bacon''s time the Earth was "observed" to lie at the centerof the Universe, in accordance with the prevailing religious notion that man (humankind)was the center of God''s creation. Applying Bacon''s scientific method Galileoexposed the biased nature of this claim. Similarly, before Einstein time and space wereassumed to be linear, in accordance with our "observation." Einstein''s mathematicalformulas suggested otherwise, and his theories have been proven empirically to betrue.Thus, it was our subjective interpretation of time and space that led to our misguidednotions about them. Einstein, like history''s other most influential scientists, simplyrefused to accept conventional interpretations of what we all observe.In sum, the speaker confuses observation with interpretation and recollection. Itis how we make sense of what we observe, not observation itself, that is colored byour perspective, expectations, and desires.The gifted individuals who can set asidetheir subjectivity and delve deeper into empirical evidence, employing Bacon''s scientificmethod, are the ones who reveal tjective butmust be objective ifwe are to embrace the more fundamental notion that knowledgeand truth exist.
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