How do Facts Speak for Themselves? The Doctrine and Practice of Classical Empiricism

Abstract

This study concerns the relationship between agent, author, and matters of fact in the doctrine and practice of classical empiricism. More particularly, it aims to provide a tentative answer to the following questions: how were empirical facts originally considered the principal object of scientific research and communication? What were the images of human conduct and the ethical codes which accompanied the rise of the fact as the prime object of human understanding? What rhetorical sources were originally deployed for the purpose of the communication of scientific factual knowledge? The historical study of empiricism provides a critical perspective on positivism on the one hand, and social constructivism on the other. It yields important insights into the linkage between experience and intentionality and its role in establishing trust in collective processes of learning.