Can be distant from current realities and the complexities associated with them. Authorities may be in disagreement among themselves. Highly susceptible to individual bias. Unable to check accuracy. Organizes what is already known but is not sufficient as a source of new truth.
Inductive conclusions can be absolute only when the group about which they are asserted is small.
There exists an external universe that human beings can know. Events in the universe are determined by a finite set of causes. The essential elements of events will recur. Human beings can examine their own experiences of reality and accurately describe them. Researcher is the detached, objective observer of the subject and functions independently of the subject.