LECTURE 5 Flashcards
Moral Sciences
Description: The term “moral sciences” refers to the study of human behavior and societies, encompassing disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology, which aim to understand the principles governing human actions and social structures.
Positivism
Description: Positivism is a philosophical theory asserting that knowledge should be derived from empirical and observable phenomena, and that metaphysical or theological claims should be rejected as they cannot be empirically verified
Comte’s Law of Three Stages
Auguste Comte proposed that societies develop through three stages:
*Theological Stage: Societies explain phenomena through supernatural or religious beliefs.
*Metaphysical Stage: Societies interpret phenomena through abstract philosophical ideas, rather than direct supernatural explanations.
*Positive Stage: Societies base their understanding on scientific knowledge and empirical evidence.
*Connection: Each stage represents a progressive refinement in human understanding, moving from speculative to more evidence-based explanations.
Problem Solved in Comte’s Third Stage
Description: The transition to the third stage resolves the issue of relying on unverifiable and speculative explanations of phenomena, replacing them with scientific and empirical methods of inquiry that can be universally validated.
Hermeneutics Against Positivism
Description: Hermeneutics criticized positivism for its reductionist approach and argued that human behavior and social phenomena require interpretive methods to understand meanings and intentions, which cannot be fully captured by empirical observation alone.
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of texts and symbolic phenomena, emphasizing the importance of understanding context, purpose, and meaning.
Verstehen
Verstehen is a method of interpreting in the social sciences, where researchers seek to understand human behavior by comprehending the subjective meanings and intentions behind actions.
Criticism of verstehen
Critics argue that Verstehen can be subjective and lacks the objectivity and rigor of empirical methods, potentially leading to biased interpretations.
Important Concepts
- Positivism: The philosophy that science should be based on observable and measurable facts.
- Hermeneutics: The art and science of interpretation, especially of texts.
- The Law of Three Stages: Comte’s theory that societies evolve through theological, metaphysical, and positive stages.
- Metaphysics: A branch of philosophy dealing with the fundamental nature of reality.
- Verstehen: A method of understanding human behavior by comprehending the subjective meanings and intentions behind actions.
- Neo-positivism: A modern adaptation of positivism that integrates some aspects of empirical methodology with more nuanced understandings of scientific inquiry.
Important Individuals
Auguste Comte: Philosopher known for founding positivism and developing the Law of Three Stages.
Wilhelm Dilthey: Philosopher who distinguished between the natural sciences and the human sciences, advocating for hermeneutic methods in the latter.
Epistemology and Ontology in the Vienna Circle
Epistemology: The study of knowledge, focusing on how we know what we know and the methods of acquiring knowledge.
Ontology: The study of being and existence, focusing on the nature of reality and what entities exist.
Main Goal Vienna Circle
The main goal was to establish a scientific worldview grounded in logical analysis and empirical verification, rejecting metaphysics and traditional philosophy as meaningless.
Main Points of the 1929 Manifesto
The manifesto emphasized the importance of empirical science, logical analysis, and the rejection of metaphysics. It advocated for a unified science where all scientific knowledge could be expressed in a common language
Social Historical Concept Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle emerged in the early 20th century in a context of rapid scientific and technological advancements, as well as political upheaval. This context influenced their emphasis on rationality, empirical evidence, and a scientific approach to knowledge.
Logical Positivism
A philosophical movement that asserts that meaningful statements are either empirically verifiable or logically necessary. It seeks to eliminate metaphysics and focus on statements that can be scientifically validated.
