Final answer:
Empirical knowledge is verified by observations made through human senses or instruments. The scientific method includes observing, hypothesizing, testing, and experimentation to confirm these observations. Ultimately, the validity of a claim is decided by the evidence that can be consistently observed.
Step-by-step explanation:
What is verifiable through observation rather than through logic or theory? This question concerns the empirical method of gathering knowledge, which is central to the scientific process. Empirical knowledge is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed consistently, regardless of who is observing. Scientific observations can be either qualitative, describing properties without numbers, or quantitative, involving precise measurement of variables.
Claims about large phenomena like galaxies, or small entities like subatomic particles, are verified through instruments that extend our senses. Simple, everyday claims can also be empirically tested, for example by checking the contents of a refrigerator. Ultimately, science is a distinctive way of acquiring knowledge about the world that combines evidence and logic to answer questions, starting with an observation, leading to hypotheses, and then testing those hypotheses through carefully designed experiments.
In the practice of science, the verification process includes interpreting observations and subjective experiences, requiring careful consideration about what constitutes adequate evidence for a claim. Logical empiricism emphasizes that the truth of a proposition is determined by its verifiability, connecting empirical evidence with the psychological aspect of truth as recognized by society or specific communities like the scientific community.