Nähtava

Nähtava is a term used in philosophy and cognitive science to denote the domain of things that are directly observable or perceivable, as opposed to phenomena requiring inference or theory to be posited.

The word stems from Finnic languages, where related forms derive from the verb meaning "to see," with suffixes forming adjectives that convey the sense of "visible" or "observable." In scholarly usage, Nähtava serves as a label for the observable domain in debates about epistemology, scientific methodology, and data interpretation.

In practice, the concept helps clarify discussions about measurement validity, data quality, and the limits of what can be known from observation alone. It also appears in discussions of observational bias and the ways in which instrumentation shapes what counts as observable.

Nähtava is not a fixed boundary; advances in technology can expand or redefine what is considered observable, making the Nähtava a moving target in some contexts. See also observable, perception, epistemology.