Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Experimentation in phonology and indeed in any scientific discipline has two basic elements for its philosophical foundation: the first is doubt. Doubt or scepticism that perhaps the things we believe or what others would have us believe may not correspond to the way things are. We realize that perhaps the sources of our beliefs are imperfect: the authority or impartiality of our teachers (including those who teach us through the printed word) may be flawed and our own senses may give us distorted or contaminated information about the world. Such scepticism, of course, has been the basis of many religious and philosophical systems. In these other domains the typical response to suspect beliefs is the promotion of additional, different beliefs (which may themselves be suspect!). What experimental methods propose in response to doubt - and this is the second element - is that it is possible to do something to counteract the suspected sources of error. Specifically, it should be possible to anticipate them and to eliminate them or at least to limit their influence. In sum, experimentation rests on the following equation: if one believes, one may doubt; if one doubts, one can strive to resolve the doubt. Part of the lore of every scientific discipline are the possible sources of error in interpreting uncontrolled observations and the procedures, often quite ingenious, for compensating ... log in or subscribe to read full text