Introspection, Empathy, and Psychoanalysis An Examination of the Relationship between Mode of Observation and Theory

Man and animals investigate their surroundings with the aid of the sensory organs; they listen, smell, watch, and touch; they form cohesive impressions of their surroundings, remember these impressions, compare them, and develop expectations on the basis of past impressions. Man's investigations become ever more consistent and systematic, the scope of the sensory organs is increased through instrumentation (telescope, microscope), the observed facts are integrated into larger units (theories) with the aid of conceptual thought bridges (which, themselves, cannot be observed), and thus evolves gradually, by imperceptible steps, the scientific investigation of the external world.