Empirics as Comparisons

Abstract

As part of the FQS Debates on quality, LAUCKEN discusses "comparisons". This paper picks up on this topic with a particular focus on the empirical evidence presented in support of a knowledge claim. By "empirics" is meant evidence collected through someone's senses. It is believed that thinking about empirics in terms of "comparisons" provides common ground in the quality/validity debate between epistemologies. Therefore, the argument of this paper is that empirical evidence quality can be usefully thought of in terms of "comparisons" rather than the traditional epistemological grounds such as independence, measurement, repeatability or the identification of the conceptual frame. After discussing "comparison" as part of human thought, this paper will suggest how it can be used to design a range of empirical gathering practice. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0501270