--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This conclusion about perception is…" description: "\"“This conclusion about perception is devastating for science: If our percepts are theory-laden, then perception is hardly a neutral and independent che..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_perception_this-conclusion-about-perception-is-deva_2634775.jpg" --- # This conclusion about perception is devastating for… ![“This conclusion about perception is devastating for science: If our percepts are theory-laden, then perception is hardly a neutral and independent check upon our theorizing. If our conceptual structures shape our observations as much as vice versa, then we are stuck inside a subjective system with…” quote by Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_perception_this-conclusion-about-perception-is-deva_2634775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_perception_this-conclusion-about-perception-is-deva_2634775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_perception_this-conclusion-about-perception-is-deva_2634775.jpg) > ““This conclusion about perception is devastating for science: If our percepts are theory-laden, then perception is hardly a neutral and independent check upon our theorizing. If our conceptual structures shape our observations as much as vice versa, then we are stuck inside a subjective system with no direct access to reality.”” [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our perceptions are influenced by our theories, so they cannot serve as unbiased evidence for those theories. **In simple terms:** Perception is shaped by ideas, not neutral. Key Takeaway Question assumptions behind what you see. Themes epistemology perception science philosophy Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - scientific research - policy analysis - education - media reporting Key Concepts theory-ladenness subjectivity observation Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate observation from belief? - Can we ever achieve objective knowledge? A Different Perspective If theories are flawed, perception may reinforce errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [In the last analysis, then, we believe that we all know and think about and talk about the same world because we believe our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-last-analysis-then-we-believe-that-we-all-know-and-think-about/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Self-percepts foster actions that generate information, as well as serve as a filtering mechanism for self-referent information in the self-maintaining process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/self-percepts-foster-actions-that-generate-information-as-well-as/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [“Kant is sometimes considered to be an advocate of reason. 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I often wished it had been different, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kaczmarek/it-was-an-odd-coincidence-that-my-career-took-off-the-same-decade-as/) [Jane Kaczmarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kaczmarek/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [As far as Vern and I go, we have had situations where people have tried to take photographs of me and cut Vernon out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/as-far-as-vern-and-i-go-we-have-had-situations-where-people-have/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) ## More by Stephen R.C. Hicks > [“Nasty political correctness as a tactic then makes perfect sense. Having rejected reason, we will not expect ourselves or others to behave reasonably. Having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/nasty-political-correctness-as-a-tactic-then-makes-perfect-sense/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Marxism was and is a class analysis, pitting economic classes against each other in a zero-sum competition. In that competition, the stronger parties would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/marxism-was-and-is-a-class-analysis-pitting-economic-classes-against/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Deconstruction as an educational strategy   Here is an example. Kate Ellis is a radical gender feminist. Ellis, as she writes in Socialist Review,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/deconstruction-as-an-educational-strategy-here-is-an-example-kate/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Yet mere membership as a matter of duty is not enough for Hegel, given the grandeur of the state’s divine historical purpose: “One must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-mere-membership-as-a-matter-of-duty-is-not-enough-for-hegel-given/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“In a “secret speech” to the twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev made a sensational revelation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/in-a-secret-speech-to-the-twentieth-congress-of-the-communist-party/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“That is my second hypothesis: Postmodernism is a response to the crisis of faith of the academic far Left. Its epistemology justifies the leap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/that-is-my-second-hypothesis-postmodernism-is-a-response-to-the/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [ “Given the pervasiveness of capitalism’s domination, the revolutionary vanguard can come only from those outcast intellectuals—especially among the younger students\[282\]—those who are able to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/given-the-pervasiveness-of-capitalism-s-domination-the-revolutionary/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“A variation on this strategy was implicit in a new definition of “poverty” that the Left began to offer in the early 1960s: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/a-variation-on-this-strategy-was-implicit-in-a-new-definition-of/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Postmodernism is the first ruthlessly consistent statement of the consequences of rejecting reason, those consequences being necessary given the history of epistemology since Kant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/postmodernism-is-the-first-ruthlessly-consistent-statement-of-the/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“From the postmodern anti-realist metaphysics and anti-reason epistemology, the postmodern social consequences follow almost directly. Once we set aside reality and reason, what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/from-the-postmodern-anti-realist-metaphysics-and-anti-reason/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“The empirical evidence has been much harder on socialism. Economically, in practice the capitalist nations are increasingly productive and prosperous, with no end in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/the-empirical-evidence-has-been-much-harder-on-socialism-economically/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Yet it is also true, Hegel granted, that in many cases the individual’s freedoms and interests will genuinely be set aside, overridden, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-it-is-also-true-hegel-granted-that-in-many-cases-the-individual-s/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Morally and politically, in practice every liberal capitalist country has a solid record for being humane, for by and large respecting rights and freedoms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/morally-and-politically-in-practice-every-liberal-capitalist-country/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“In our time, the world created by the Enlightenment is strong, active, and exuberant. For a while in the past century, socialists could believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/in-our-time-the-world-created-by-the-enlightenment-is-strong-active/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Kunst ist Scheisse (Art is shit) was, fittingly, the motto of the Dada movement. Duchamp’s urinal was the fitting symbol. Everything is waste to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/kunst-ist-scheisse-art-is-shit-was-fittingly-the-motto-of-the-dada/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) [Explore all 53 Stephen R.C. Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) ## More Perception quotes > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [There's no reason for men to be better at maths than women - it's just about our perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-s-no-reason-for-men-to-be-better-at-maths-than-women-it-s-just/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out, and there's a broad agreement that that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/when-you-hang-the-bipartisan-tag-on-something-the-perception-is-that/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If people in Indonesia look 'different', they are afraid. Racist insults fly if someone does not look like part of the majority. Indonesia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/if-people-in-indonesia-look-different-they-are-afraid-racist-insults/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [The new limitations are the human ones of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/the-new-limitations-are-the-human-ones-of-perception/) Milton Babbitt > [Gasoline inventories are tighter than they were a few weeks ago. It's all about perception, because inventories are well above where they have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-cooper/gasoline-inventories-are-tighter-than-they-were-a-few-weeks-ago-it-s/) Kyle Cooper > [As a society, we have this perception that women are emotional. The research, however, tells us that, on trading floors, that poor risk rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallie-krawcheck/as-a-society-we-have-this-perception-that-women-are-emotional-the/) [Sallie Krawcheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallie-krawcheck/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Perception can be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/perception-can-be-changed/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) [Browse all 3,687 Perception quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This conclusion about perception is devastating for science: If our percepts are theory-laden, then perception is hardly a neutral and independent check upon our theorizing. If our conceptual structures shape our observations as much as vice versa, then we are stuck inside a subjective system with no direct access to reality.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen R.C. 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