AN ANALYSIS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN ACCORDANCE TO THE WORKS OF EUGENE MILLER (original) (raw)
Related papers
SHORT REFLECTION ON POSITIVISM
The University of Sheffield, 2018
Positivism, which was developed by Auguste Comte in the first half of the nineteenth century, suggests that only the knowledge obtained through rigorous observation and testing in the reality is valuable and qualified to explain the world. 1 According to Comte, the knowledge acquired through positivistic methodology can, and should, replace the metaphysical theories of ontology to explain the world, because he noted that there were three phases in the progress of knowledge, which were in turn theological, metaphysical and positivist knowledge, and positivist was the third phase developed from the others. 2 Positivism is not only the basis for the methodology of modern natural science and the precursor to the brilliant development of science today, but it also has a strong influence on the social sciences. Because of that, social scientists were impressed by the successful results from positivistic methodolody and try to apply that to their researches.
Positivism as a method of enquiry relies upon the scientific methodological principles of empirical observation, deductive reasoning, and formulation of laws or universal generalizations. Enlightenment brought about a new age of reason, objectivity and criticality. The enlightenment witnessed a period of spectacular triumphs in the natural sciences. The success did not go unnoticed in the social sciences. Rather, as many commentators have noted, the social sciences were born in the shadow of these triumphs. Furthermore, the methodological lessons that the natural sciences were teaching seemed to be very clear: if the methods of the natural science are strictly adhered to, then the spectacular success of these sciences could be matched in the social sciences. The social sciences had only to await the arrival of their Newton (Hekman). Positivism was thus an inevitable consequence of science.
Positivism: - Research Philosophy
From the study of the development of human intelligence, in all directions, and through all times, the discovery arises of a great fundamental law (which is that) each branch of our knowledge passes successively through three different theoretical conditions: the theological, fictitious; the metaphysical, or abstract; and the scientific or positive"
POSITIVISM -FROM WEAKNESSES TO NEW OPENINGS
Revista Universitară de Sociologie. , 2020
Time emphasizes periods of glory and decay for different lines of thought. For the positivist approach, the XIX century has been the period in which it flourished. Its way of seeing the world, inspired from science, represented that newness the society needed for a general social change. Although it impressed and was borrowed by many scientists all over the world, in the XX century positivism stepped into an era of the unknown. The constructivisms have taken its place of fame. It has fallen so much that some authors considered it dead. Intrigued by this change, we started our journey in finding why the positivism failed and if there is a resurrection way for it. We analyze the basic ideas of positivism and with the help of critical analysis we indicate the reasons for its decline. After understanding its weaknesses, we follow the recent scientific discoveries, seeking to reinforce the basic principles of positivism and we highlight a new positivist law through which we can study and understand the world. We conclude the paper by proposing new research directions that can be analyzed through the positivism lenses: ongoing processes like globalization, Europeanization or Americanization, and economic, environmental or health problems.
On Positivism and its Methodological Individualist Revision
Epistemological, Ethical and Political Issues in Modern Philosophy, 2018
Positivism as a theory of social sciences is mainly a result of the ontological contestation of materialism, with idealism and the epistemological contestation of nominalism with realism. In this chapter, the historical specificity of positivism and the ontological and epistemological links between the positivist theory and Popperian methodological individualism are elaborated. This chapter also addresses how the processes of disciplinarisarisation within social sciences and the division of social reality into distinct domains like politics and economics, would mean that positivism operates with the philosophy of external relations. Therefore, to serve the ideological premises of positivism, it is argued in this chapter that the restricted disciplinary boundaries of nomothetic social sciences are not ‘natural’ but ideologically constructed.
Educational Theory, 1989
One of the problems with living in a period of transition comes from facing either too few or too many options. If the old order seems too rigid and constraining, the new frequently offers altogether too many untested possibilities. The social sciences have been in such an awkward interregnum with respect to their epistemological premises since the late sixties. Although the old regime of positivism has been overthrown, many of its overly constraining beliefs and practices persist. On the other hand, rebels of various stripesphenomenologists, hermeneuticians, critical theoristsoffer a plethora of competing programs, many of which seem better adapted to fighting the old Correspondence:
A Trivial Contribution to Methodological Encountering of Positivism and Antipositivism
Throughout the history, there has been an ongoing debate between two main philosophical strands. In a Kantian sense, they are named as nomothetic and idiographic approaches. On the one hand, universality, plenary (universals), generalization, objectivity, similarity, causation, reasoning and stable laws are at the center of nomothetic intellectual efforts. On the other hand, contextuality, historicity, singularity, understanding, difference and uniqueness are very important for the latter tendency. Both of these styles has disputed with each other for a long time in the history of thought. They sometimes call each other to appeal for help when they are chocked. In this paper, I try to demonstrate advantages and disadvantages of Positivism which has been the most salient delegate and exhilarant defender of nomothetic modality since the 19th century. In the first place, I briefly introduce Positivism and its relations with Enlightenment briefly. Then, I underscore some of its qualities and shortcomings. In the second part, I focus on its critique from different angles. Along all work, I mostly embrace Positivism as a methodological perspective.