Perception and observation unladened

• Autores: Ioannis Votsis
• Localización: Philosophical Studies, ISSN-e 1573-0883, Vol. 72, Nº. 3, 2015, págs. 563-585
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Let us call ‘veridicalism’ the view that perceptual beliefs and observational reports are largely truthful. This paper aims to make a case for veridicalism by, among other things, examining in detail and ultimately deflating in import what many consider to be the view’s greatest threat, the so-called ‘theory-ladenness’ of perception and/or observation. In what follows, it is argued that to the extent that theoretical factors influence the formation of perceptual beliefs and observational reports, as theory-ladenness demands, that influence is typically not detrimental to their veridicality or at least not irreversibly so. Central to the defence of veridicalism are two principles: that of internal similarities and that of internal dissimilarities.