The Thesis of Theory-Laden [TTL] holds that is not possible a neutral observation. From this thesis, some philosophers have inferred that the facts, i.e., the subject’s independent reality, do not exist or that they are social constructions only. The aim of this paper is assess if TTL necessarily implies a constructivist point of view or if, conversely, we can still speak about the reality. In order to do this, we will clarify these terms: “the theory-ladenness of observation” and “constructivism”. Then, we will argue that although TTL is possible, we are not committed to constructivism, and on the contrary, TTL can be an interesting frame to the realistic thesis. Finally, we will point out the impact this had has when evaluating many epistemological proposals.
Keywords:
Gergen, theory -laden, constructivism, observation, reality
Aguirre-García, J. C., & Jaramillo-Echeverri, L. (2013). Theory-Laden thesis and constructivism. Cinta De Moebio. Revista De Epistemología De Ciencias Sociales, (47). Retrieved from https://boletincorteidh.uchile.cl/index.php/CDM/article/view/27711
