Positivist Dispute

There is an on-going debate within the philosophy of social science, regarding the relationship between the natural and social sciences. This discussion stems from opposing viewpoints as to how studies of the world around us should be conducted. The job of science is to explain and make predictions regarding our realties, and researchers in the natural and social sciences have distinct views regarding that method. The natural sciences are focused on the causal nature of phenomena and they believe that the best way to discover these causes is through quantitative, analytical and impartial studies. The belief is that this brings them as close to the "reality of truth" as possible within an experimental environment. Social science theory on the other hand, deems the natural sciences as clinical and dismissive of meaningful explanations. Societal studies should involve reflective interpretations. It is apparent that all social researchers agree that the social sciences should be studied; Disagreement occurs regarding the methods chosen to study it. The United Nations is an entity that was created because all of its members agreed on the attainment of world peace and harmony. Problems have arisen regarding the pathways to achieve those goals, since every country has defined its own beliefs regarding policies and procedures. Likewise the social sciences face similar challenges from the differences in the use of language in studies, and how the resulting conclusions are communicated to others. Many scholars in the natural sciences believe that the social sciences are methodically similar. But can social science fit into a naturalist attitude? Can natural methods really benefit social sciences? Can there be a unity of science? How can hard" empiricism work for the study of a human condition which is "dynamic" in nature? How is the study of politics affected by these questions? This essay looks at these topics through the lenses of positivism, a study that embraced the views of the natural sciences.

Sir Francis Bacon once said, " To study nature you must consult nature, not Aristotle". The realist perspective of positivism fulfills Bacon's request. Positivism places particular emphasis on the sense experience of observable facts. The Vienna Circle, a group of positivists from the early 20th century, dismissed metaphysics as not having an important role in research. They believed that all statements could be reduced to a definitive mimetic, or that is to say, an actual reflection of human experience. But how can we measure experience? The answer according to a tenet of positivist theory is through empirical analysis, changing the observable into the verifiable. Emile Durkheim, a positivist from the late 18th Century, believed that the only way to measure science was by separating the individual from the State. His work, "Suicide", established empiricism within sociology, which would describe phenomena strictly in sociological terms.