Philosophers redefine how science builds knowledge from experience
Researchers propose that scientific inquiry rests not on abstract rules about what is observable, but on the lived experience and practical skills of scientists themselves. The framework could reshape how laboratories, tech companies, and regulators think about validating evidence and establishing scientific truth.
Originaltitel: The life-world as the empirical basis of science
**Filosofisk ram omdefinierar grund för vetenskaplig observation** Traditionella modeller för vetenskaplig empiri baseras på en skarp gräns mellan observerbar och oobserverbar verklighet. Den gränsdragningen skapar praktiska problem: teorin påverkar vad forskare ser, och det är svårt att exakt definiera vad som faktiskt observeras. Forskare från Linköpings universitet, KU Leuven och University College London föreslår ett nytt ramverk inspirerat av fenomenologins livsvärldskoncept. Modellen utvidgar empirins grund bortom sensoriska iakttagelser till att omfatta kognitiva och praktiska dimensioner som formar vetenskaplig verksamhet. Ramverket betonar observatörens roll och integrerar hur vetenskaplig och vardaglig meningsskapande kontinuerligt flyter in i varandra. För biovetenskaps- och läkemedelsbranschen kan detta förtydliga hur laboratoriepraktiker faktiskt fungerar och hur nya upptäckter äger rum i gränslandet mellan teori och verklighet.
<p>The empirical foundation of science has often been characterised in terms of the observable-unobservable distinction, developed either syntactically, as a set of statements, or semantically, as aspects of the world represented by models. These approaches have faced well-known challenges: the difficulty of drawing a sharp line between observables and unobservables, the theory-ladenness of observation, and the problem of specifying what, exactly, is observed. We take up these challenges by developing an alternative framework inspired by the phenomenological concept of the life-world. Our proposal offers several advantages: it provides a richer characterization of the foundational level, clarifying the conditions of possibility for inquiry and avoiding overly narrow views that equate the empirical basis with linguistic statements or model components; it stresses the role of the empirical basis not only in individuating phenomena and testing claims, but also in sustaining scientific inquiry throughout; it extends beyond the senses to include cognitive and practical dimensions that shape experience and scientific practice; it foregrounds the role of the observing subject; it highlights the continuity between observation and theory, and between scientific and extra-scientific sense-making; and it integrates the most compelling, if sometimes at first pass conflicting, relevant analytic insights.</p>