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From: ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Science and Subjectivity
Message-ID: <304@spar.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Jun-85 04:12:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: spar.304
Posted: Mon Jun 10 04:12:25 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Jun-85 02:24:03 EDT
References: <1039@pyuxd.UUCP> <293@spar.UUCP> <26@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis)
Organization: Schlumberger Palo Alto Research, CA
Lines: 22

>>    Individual subjective experience is by definition external to
>>    the universe of science, since the scientific method involves
>>    by definition phenomena that are verifiable by independent
>>    observers.
>
>Does this mean that the social sciences aren't sciences? - Paul Torek

    No.

    The social sciences tend to study the RESPONSES of large groups of
    people statistically, in hopes of achieving repeatable results.
    Note that objective effects are being observed, such as `how
    did most subjects respond to a sequence of stimuli?'.

    Nonscientific disciplines that frequently focus on INDIVIDUAL subjective
    experience are Zen/Ch'an, and sometimes NeoConfucianism, existentialist
    philosophy, Sufism, religious metaphysics, etc. The focus here is 
    the subjective experience of pure awareness itself.

    SMASH CAUSALITY!!!

-michael