Positivism and Post-Positivism

Positivism - Philosophical System developed by Aguste Comte, empirical observational and positive facts (Not in the negative) are the only valid sources of knowledge - reject morality, ethics and metaphysics and abstract philosophical reasoning

• Mendelev’s Periodic Table - based on observable patterns and chemical properties

• diametrically opposed to quantum physics - hindered the acceptance of this, based on theoretical models which cannot always be observed or proven

• Atomic Theory - 1800s, Manchester School Teacher - John Dalton

  • all matters are composed of atoms

  • all atoms in an element are alike in property and mass

  • compounds are combinations of different atoms

  • chemical reaction is a reorganization of these atoms

• Mach and Oswald - rejected this theory because it is not something that can be seen or proven

• Max Planck - Father of Quantum Physics, energy comes in discreet packets rather than a continuum

• Boltzmann - Kinetic Theory of Gases - two theories based on the existence of atoms, work only if atoms exist

• 1900s - Einstein → found no contradiction between thermodynamics and kinetic theory, hence establishing the existence of atom

• Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle - it is impossible to simultaneously determine the position and momentum of subatomic particles (electron) - because of nature itself

• impossible to verify a law with all unknown and known objects

Post-Positivism

• 1930s abandoned by Kuhn and Popper - replace verifiability with falsifiability, fact unless you can prove it is not a fact

• superseded by the concept of critical realism - reality exists independent of the scientist and it is impossible to be absolutely certain of this reality, science as a human endeavor is prone to error - observations and empirical data are not culture free and free from bias. different people would focus on different thing when conducting research