The positivism approach.
As per the positivist approach, It is believed by many sociologists that a science of society can be created based on the same principles and processes as that natural sciences like chemistry and biology. Some of the significant assumptions made by the positivist approach are as follows: Positivism And Its Critique
- Just like the nature and behavior of matter can be objectively measured, we can also measure the behavior of man. Different ‘objective measurement methods can be devised to quantify human behavior similar to how the behavior of matter can be quantified by measuring weight, pressure, temperature, etc. Positivism And Its Critique
- From the viewpoint of positivists, scientific norms, assumptions, and methods can be applied to human behavior. The behavioral observations can be made based on an objective measurement that can produce cause and effect statements about the behavior of an individual. Positivism And Its Critique
- Theoretical statements can be formulated to explain the observed behavior. Positivism And Its Critique
- According to the positivist approach, factors that can not be observed directly (like feelings, meanings, and purposes) are not significant and can be confusing. For instance, the majority of adult members in society marry and produce children. This act of theirs is observable and quantifiable. On the other hand, the meanings, feelings, and purposes that society designates to marriage and procreation are unobservable directly. Even if we can measure them directly, the outcome would divert attention from the exact cause and effect of human behavior. People may have different views one may think of marriage as a solution to loneliness whereas for others it may be a wish to have offspring. The reliability of such type of data is excessively low.
- Positivists focus on the observable facts which is due to the belief that the behavior of an individual can be clarified in much the similar manner as the behavior of the material.
The belief that just as the materials (like atoms and molecules) tend to behave according to the external stimuli the behavior of men reacting to external stimuli can also be explained in terms of their reaction.
Supporting theories.
- Auguste Comte (1798-1857) is one of the widely recognized sociologists of his era. He is greatly respected to produce a ‘positive science of society. According to his standpoint, the scientific approach can reveal the evolution of society following the ‘invariable laws’. It can show that a man’s behavior was ruled by values of cause and effect which were just as consistent as the behavior of matter (the subject of the natural sciences).
- Also, Marxism is considered a positivist method because it perceives human behavior as a response to the stimulus of the economic organization.
- Functionalism is also in the same light as it studies the behavior of members of society as a response to the functional requirements of the social structure. Positivism And Its Critique
Criticism
- The positivism concept by Comte faced criticism both from inside and outside the positivist field. The people with a positivist mindset followed logical positivism which appealed that science is both logical and based on observable facts and that the fact of any declaration lies in its confirmation through physical knowledge. On the other hand, schools of thought like symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, ethnomethodology, etc questioned the positivist approach and its insight into social truth. Positivism And Its Critique
