I.11 Naturalism and Positivism

Naturalism

Assumes that the Real World isn‘t the one we experience
→ there is an objective reality that‘s the same for everyone and everything
Can gain access by actively thinking, observing and recording our experiences of that Real World
Subject and object can be separated → objectivity = possible
→ no attachment to object → only have to observe
→ neutrality in science
→ science = mirrored reflection of reality
→ can gain perfect understanding of work
Goal: discover + explain patterns that are assumed to exist
Types: (all want to find foundation of knowledge)
Positivism (can gain factual knowledge abt world through observations, experiments and comparisons)
Empiricism
Behaviorism (branche in psychology)
Rationalism

Constrcutivism

Reality doesn’t exist independently from subject
→ subject creates reality through perception
→ no objective reality
Subject + object = always connected
→ no objective perspective
Types:
anti-positivism (no objective truth to discover → never be able to know any “real” truth abt world)
Interpretivism (everyone interprets the world differently)
Hermeneutics (interpretations)
Social constructionism (society = a construct that can influence us)
Perspectivism (everyone has their own perspective)
Post-modernism (knowledge + truth can depend on perspective + context)
Post-structuralism (language, meaning and identity change depending on culture)

Francis Bacon

English empiricist
Mind = tabula rasa
Believes we can’t trust our senses based on The Four Idols
→ 4 ways in which our senses can deceive us through biases but we can overcome that by being aware + overcoming those biases
→ like Descartes
Developer of induction (particular observations → general conclusion)
V important in development of scientific methods
→ principles:
non-biased observations (take deception of senses into account)
Close observations that form conclusion

Auguste Comte

French philosopher + positivist
Need to embrace scientific methods because he believed that the cause and effect relationship is what is crucial for social development
Use scientific method to understand society
→ attempt at founding sociology but was too philosophical

Wilhelm Dilthey and Max Weber

Distinction between natural and social sciences
→ based on different logics
Natural sciences (positivism)
→ study of an objective + unchanging reality
→ scientific checks, reproduction of experiments, objective measurements (like calculating speed) have to be possible
Social sciences (anti-positivism)
→ study of social world
→ social behaviour needs to be interpreted
→ no objective, scientific, measurable checks
→ is hermeneutic (has to be interpreted)
→ generalizable laws = not possible
→ correspondance theory truth (describes the way the world is + how it is linked to perfection) = not possible
→ can only gain truth as approximation bc it will always be bound to personal bias
Max Weber embraced this

Émile Durkheim

Developed sociological methods
Social fact: “rules” or manners of acting, thinking and feeling that can be used as a coercive power
→ have an objective reality that can be studied
→ emotional/ social forces = physical forces
→ external + internal
Observer has to be neutral
Society = set of ideas and collective interpretations with meaning
Solution: Society + social constructions = part of nature
→ even if society = social construct, we can still study its effect on individuals in an objective manner bc it’s part if nature (→ studied w naturalis)
→ between naturalism + constructivism