Information AboutAntipositivism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ANTIPOSITIVISM | |
| sociological theories | |
|
EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT Antipositivism evolved in the s, Norm s, and Value s—all that can be described as the Culture . This view was further developed by Max Weber , who introduced the term antipositivism (also known as humanistic sociology). According to this view, closely related to Antinaturalism , sociology research must use specific tools and methods and concentrate on humans and their cultural values. This has led to some controversy on how one can draw the line between Subjective and Objective research, much less draw an artificial line between environment and human organization (see Environmental Sociology ), and influenced the study of Hermeneutics . The base concepts of antipositivism have expanded beyond the scope of Social Science , in fact, Phenomenology has the same basic principles at its core. Lately, Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela applied these notions to the world of Biology , developing a type of relativist science. CRITIQUE OF POSITIVISM Antipositivism criticises many of the positivistic assumptions and principles. First, they argue that there is no methodological unity of science, i.e., that we cannot use the same tools to study natural and social sciences. Antipositivists then add that positivism is restricted to phenomena that can be constrained within an analytical and verifiable fragment of the reality, i.e., that it is impossible to study freedom, irrationality and various unpredictable actions that are common in individual human behaviour. They also argue that knowledge can never be neutral, as it directly translates into power and that positivists attempt to draw an artificial line between observer and the subject. Finally, antipositivsts argue that positivism's two goals - explanation and prediction - are incomplete, since they lack the goal of understanding. OVERVIEW OF NON-POSITIVISTIC APPROACHES There are several approaches in social sciences that are opposing the positivistic view. They are:
SEE ALSO |
|
|