Ideja deskriptivne epistemologije

The failure of logical empiricism initiated a new path in epistemology. The first turn was made by Willard Quine who suggested to reject the foundational epistemology and to describe the knowing subject for the purpose of undestanding knowledge. The description is to be looked for in psychology, thus making epistemology a pant of psychology, i. e. part of natural science. The objection about circular reasoning is rejected because descriptive epistemology does not attempt to found science by means of science, but only to understand science by means of itself. Donald T. Campbell is of the opinion that in order to describe the knowing subject, the number of relevant sciences has to be increased. First of all, the fact that man has developed in the course of biological evolution shows that knowledge should be seen in the light of evolution. Campbell sees evolution as the process of acquiring knowledge, which means that survival of the individual and of a species is the result of successful knowledge, successful problem-solving. The model of blind variation and selective retention is, therefore, applicable to all forms of knowledge, scientific knowledge included. Science is not contrary to nature; there is no discontinuity between the evolution of life and science. The model which biology has discovered as the model of the evolution of life is at the same time (and first of all) the model of acquiring knowledge. Karl Popper has achieved what is essentially the same result by logical analysis of the growth of scientific knowledge. Scientific theories are conjectures (blind variations) of which some are rejected and other accepted (selective retention) in the scientific struggle for life. The trial-and-error model is applicable to the amoeba and to Einstein.