POSITIVISM IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Positivism in Social Sciences



Positivism in Social Sciences

Introduction

There is a strong current of positivism in contemporary sociology --in fact, one might say this is the dominant paradigm. Other paradigms exist feminism, Marxism, comparative historical sociology, and ethnographic sociology, to name several. But the claim of science is generally couched in terms of a positivist theory of science and inquiry. This is unsurprising, in that several of the founders of sociology were most emphatic in asserting the necessary connection between the two ideas, and Comte invented both "positivism" and "sociology" as modern terms.

History

The philosophy of positivism founded by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) has come under severe criticism in the last 40 years. Criticism in itself of something that is 150 years old is not surprising. A set of theories developed by Comte so long ago is being examined and tested by social scientists now when we have the benefit of the knowledge gained over more than a century. Society has moved on in this period; there are new perspectives and many more minds ready to challenge the old theories. So the post-positivist social scientists are justified in one respect at least (Stace, 1944).

The sustained, repeated assaults on positivism over many years are quite another matter. In this respect, its critics seem to have exhausted themselves in order to demolish positivism. This raises new questions. What is post-positivism? Is it an exercise to dismiss again and again something that is old and has encountered difficulties when tested in the modern world? Does post-positivism provide a coherent alternative to positivism? Is there anything relevant in the advocacy of a scientific approach in social enquiry that Comte first advocated all those years ago?

As Anthony Giddens says, positivism has become a term of abuse. It is not fashionable to suggest that contemporary philosophers have anything to do with it. However, I am going to raise this possibility as I pose the questions mentioned in the above paragraph. But first it is important to recognize that social inquiry cannot serve its purpose if it is not relevant in the conditions in which it takes place. We need to look at positivism in its historical perspective - the social conditions in which it evolved (Peter Halfpenny, 1982).

Analysis

Positivism is a theory of knowledge according to which the only kind of sound knowledge available to humankind is that of science grounded in observation. Positivism is a unity of science thesis according to which all sciences can be integrated into a single natural system. The impact of scientific advances on society gives further clues about his work. Peter Halfpenny points out that, to Comte, sociology was the 'queen of the sciences'. Positivism was 'scientific' because knowledge had practical value and the growth of science was for the benefit of humankind (McLennan, Gregor. 2000). To him, it was 'empiricist' as only humans could experience it. It was 'encyclopaedic' because all the sciences came under a single system of natural ...