2
• Last week we explored the broad philosophical
concepts that are fundamental to social science
research: ontology, epistemology, theory.
• This week, we start our focus on a range of
epistemologies relevant to
...
2
• Last week we explored the broad philosophical
concepts that are fundamental to social science
research: ontology, epistemology, theory.
• This week, we start our focus on a range of
epistemologies relevant to social science research:
Positivism
• If you remember, a key element of positivism is
objective knowledge.Learning Outcomes
3
• Understand the key principles of positivism;
• Understand the origins of positivism;
• Understand positivism in practice;
• To engage in an evaluation of positivism.What is Positivism?
• Positivism is an epistemological perspective.
• It believes in the scientific study of the social world.
• This is based on there being one single reality that
we can know and explain.
• Knowledge is gained through experience –
observation, measurement and experimentation.
• Let’s look at these points in more detail…
4Positivism – Key Principles
• There are five key principles of positivism:
1. Objectivism
2. Empiricism
3. Scientific method (and scientific knowledge)
4. Value freedom
5. Instrumental (useful) knowledge
5Objectivism (Ontology)
• Positivism is based on an objectivist view of reality.
– There is a real world independent of our
knowledge of it.
• The job of the social scientist is to neutrally observe
and discover this reality.
6Empiricism
• The belief that knowledge comes from direct
observation and experimentation.
• Knowledge is verified (proved) through repeated
observation.
• Researchers used repeated observation to
discover and verify universal laws and theories.
– Laws are generalised, descriptive statements
of observed phenomenon
– Theories are generalised, explanatory
statements of observed phenomenon
7Scientific Method
• The scientific method is a logical process for the
gaining of objective knowledge.
• It is intended to be an unbiased way of discovering
truth:
– If the scientific method is followed, then the
results of observation should be accurate.
– It does not matter who makes the observation.
• The scientific method is a way of discovering and
testing scientific laws and theories.
8Scientific Method
9
Obsv
• Observation
• observation and description of phenomena
Hypo
• Hypothesis
• develop a hypothesis to explain the phenomena
Pred
• Prediction
• use hypothesis to predict other phenomena or results of
future observations
Test
• Testing
• test the predictions using observations and experimentsScientific Method
10
Observation
Hypothesis
Prediction
Testing
Hypothesis
proved
Hypothesis
disproved
TheoryScientific Knowledge
• If the scientific method is followed, then the
knowledge that is discovered will also be scientific.
• So the scientific method will produce scientific
knowledge.
• Scientific knowledge has to be:
– Based on observation
– Unbiased (objective)
– Concerned with truth
– Universal
– Reliable
11Value Freedom
• As we have seen, the gaining of objective
knowledge is a neutral process and activity.
– The beliefs, values and opinions of the
researcher should not have any role in the
gaining of knowledge.
• Positivism therefore involves a separation between
facts and values:
12Value Freedom
• Values cannot come from facts, and facts cannot
come from values.
• Truth can be verified through observation, values
cannot.
• Therefore scientific knowledge is seen as different
from, and sometimes superior to, other types of
knowledge.
13Instrumental Knowledge
• Instrumental knowledge refer to knowledge that can
and should be put to use in society.
• This goes back to the fundamental aim of social
science:
– To understand and explain social problems, and
identify solutions.
• This links to the idea of progress:
– Over time we gain a more accurate understanding
of the world;
– We can then use this knowledge to benefit
people.
14Origins of Positivism
• As we saw in Week 1, social science’s origins are
in the development of modern natural science.
– The Scientific Revolution 1550-1700
• The development of positivism as an
epistemology is the start of social science.
• Auguste Comte is the scholar who developed the
positivist epistemology…
15Auguste Comte 1798-1857
• From 1830-1848 Comte published a
series of books that detailed
positivism.
• He believed that the natural sciences
had reached the stage of discovering
truth, through direct observation.
• However, intellectual thought
regarding society was focused on
abstract ideas:
– Universal rights, freedom, equality.
– These things cannot be observed.
16Auguste Comte 1798-1857
• Comte then argued that if we were to properly
understand society, then we needed to study the
social world in the same way the sciences study
the natural world.
• Then social science could achieve the same
status as natural science
• Comte has been hugely influential both in:
– The philosophy of epistemology;
– The practice of social science.
17Positivism in Practice - Durkheim
• Durkheim (1858-1917) was another scholar who
was hugely influential in the foundation of social
science, and was influenced by positivism.
• Durkheim argued that social institutions outlive the
particular individuals who inhabit them:
– Social movements – feminism
– Organisations – government
– Social structures – family
• Durkheim called these ‘social facts’.
18Positivism in Practice - Durkheim
• Social facts: ways of acting, or patterns of
behaviour, that are an external constraint on
individuals.
• Therefore for Durkheim, these social facts must
have a reality of their own – objectivist ontology
• If this is so, then the existence of them can be
established through the observation of social
behaviour.
• Durkheim tried to establish this through his study of
suicide…
19Positivism in Practice - Durkheim
• Durkheim attempted to find out whether suicide was
caused by society rather than an individual’s mental
state.
• He collected statistics on suicide rates across
Europe
• He looked at the differences in suicide rates among
countries and different categories of people
• He argued that suicide rates are not affected by
non-social factors, such as race, genetics, mental
disorder, climate or season of the year.
20Positivism in Practice - Durkheim
• Durkheim argued that suicide rates are affected by
social factors, such as religious faith, marital
status, employment and sudden change income:
– Individuals with a stronger integration to a
religious community had lower levels of suicide
• The main method he took from positivism was the
use of evidence gained from observations of
statistical data to establish the existence of social
facts.
21Positivism: Summary
• Positivism is an epistemology that applies the
scientific method to the study of society.
• 5 key principles:
1. Objectivism
2. Empiricism
3. Scientific method
4. Value freedom
5. Instrumental knowledge
22Positivism: Summary
• 2 influential key thinkers:
– Auguste Comte: developed positivism based on
the success of the natural sciences.
– Emile Durkheim: used positivism in his empirical
study of society and social behaviour.
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