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The nature of observation has long been a topic of heated debate in the field of philosophy. Some arguers hold the belief of Objectivism that all beings are objective including human’s existence and their actions, while their dissidents claim that the process of observing are subjective thus the production of this action is subjective. Before embarking on discussing its nature, I should give a definition of observation, that is, a process of noticing and the result of the noticing action. This term consists of two dimensions, process in which observers are involved and result which is given by observers, consequently, observation is inseparable with observers. Thus, the innate subjectivity of observers must have an unavoidable influence on observation as both a process and the outcome.
Observation is certainly subjective in terms of observers and observation recognizers. Without observers, objective existences are meaningless. For instance, if tomatoes had not been noticed in the Medieval, doubted then and finally popularized as an eatable juicy fruit, they would still be buried in obscurity and wildness. The observation and categorization of tomatoes as eatable and juicy are of course interwoven with observers’ cognitive schema in which what sort of food can be eaten and what trait is called juicy. Besides the result, the process itself is also a subjective one where observers consciously or unconsciously infuse their speculations, deductions and others, all of which belong to mental activities and hence are subjective. This is equally true of accepting observations, for recipients are not expected to receive observations without personal digestion and integration, while the latter refer to their subjective mechanics in their cognitive system
Observation is also objective based on two aspects. For one thing, people never cease their pursuit of the ultimate objectivity with their value of scientific truth and this pursuit is like a spiral evolution. It is along this evolution that, those crusaders and pioneers make consecutive efforts to desert the previous premature observations and get closer to the ultimate goal. Consider seaweed, for instance. Decades ago, seaweeds were observed as plants because they did not have legs or stomachs which animals have. However, after further observation and research, one fourth of them should be classified as animals and animals do not necessarily have legs and stomachs. This case verifies that the spiral development and the ultimate goal objectively exist, which are undeniable. For the other thing, some hypotheses or facts can get growing common recognition and increasing public trust in this process of pursuit. Those observations become objective and authoretivies and few people tend to challenge them. Like tomatoes, no one nowadays still suspect its characteristics as eatable and juicy.
It should be emphasized that it is meaningless to categorize observation as subjective or objective as it stands, since it is a combination of these two sides. Holders of objectivism or subjectivism on the issue of observation fail to see its whole portrait. Instead, at the meantime of admitting its subjectivity, we should never stop our steps toward the ultimate objectivity, only by which we can achieve more mature and scientific observations for later generations and society.
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