General procedures of empirical science

Abstract

1. Some philosophers define the term "Science" as a system of words and symbols, delimitated by certain formal conditions (formal attitude). Instead of this, we prefer to use the term "science" for a system of human activities delimitated from other human activities by careful observation of the cases where the term is actually used in current language (significal attitude). A description of common features of these activities can, of course, only be rather rough, vague and schematic. They have been arranged here in a definite order. But I have done so only for the better surveyability, and I am well aware that the process really does not have a definite beginning or end and is not strictly linear, but has many sidelines and ramifications. In particulair some of the processes mentioned below may fail or occur in a somewhat different order. 2. We reckon to belong to a prae-scientific stage the distinctions we are accustomed to make between "experiences", "memories" (of previous experiences), "expectations" (of future experiences) and "images" (of fictitious experiences); all these will be gathered under the term "perceptions". Neither do we discuss now the distinction between these perceptions and the "emotions" and "volitions". For the sake of simplicity we restrict the use of the term "experiences" to fully conscious ones. These may be considered as having been obtained by subconscious selection from a more extensive group of perceptions, part of which remains subconscious, but may influence later processes. (If e.g. objects are observed visually, the distribution of light and shadow on them usually does not penetrate to full consciousness. Sometimes, being alone in a quiet room, we become aware of something moving, without being able to say, what our per ception really was. When it happens again, we may find out that e.g. a curtain behind us has moved slightly, and that a bright spot on the floor before us became somewhat darker and then brighter again). *) 3. As the beginning of the process we wish to describe we con sider a group of such experiences. Some of these are forgotten imme