In this post, we argue that the concept of empirical truth inherently implies that perceived reality is not a cognitive bias[1].
We first define empirical evidence and assume that empirical evidence is used to arrive at empirical truth[2]:
A thing is evidence for a proposition if it epistemically supports this proposition or indicates that the supported proposition is true. Evidence is empirical if it is constituted by or accessible to sensory experience.
The important concept to note is that empirical truth needs sensory input, i.e., it's not arriving at the truth using only the mind; it's using the body and senses as well in order to arrive at the truth. Thus, it assumes that perceived reality is not a cognitive bias[1].
We believe assuming perceived reality to be a cognitive bias is a central assumption in texts like Advaita Vedanta[3], where the force of Maya is the cosmic force that makes us believe that perceived reality is not a cognitive bias. This assumption leads to a difference in how we define concepts like sound[4][5] from the traditional scientific definitions.
Thus, we argue that the concept of empirical truth inherently makes an assumption that is contrary to texts like Advaita Vedanta, i.e., it does not characterize the perceived reality as a cognitive bias. We qualify that our knowledge of this aspect of Advaita Vedanta is based on intuition and not study. Furthermore, we take a guess that the concept of empirical truth is what distinguishes between Shruti and Smriti[6].
[1] https://m-chaturvedi.github.io/blog/040/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_evidence#Definition
[3] https://m-chaturvedi.github.io/blog/034/
[4] https://m-chaturvedi.github.io/blog/056/
[5] https://m-chaturvedi.github.io/blog/055/
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śruti#Distinction_between_śruti_and_smṛti