theory-laden

A statement is theory-laden if its terms only make sense in the light of a set of theoretical principles. The judgement that an electron has been emitted, for example, would be more heavily theory-laden than the judgement that there was a white flash on the screen. However, it is widely believed that all statements are theory-laden, and none has the status attributed by the logical positivists to basic or protocol statements, of giving a theoretically innocent report of unvarnished experience. See also myth of the given.