Since its existence, humanity has questioned the life it has lived and has tried to figure out how to reach information and truth. One of the philosophical movements that emerged during these studies is positivism. Although it is possible to see examples or similar ideas in many different periods of history, the mentality we call positivism was put forward by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in the 19th century.
Since positivism argues that social sciences and people should somehow purify themselves from dogmas, it can be considered as an effective structure in the field of religion as well as philosophy. He argues that we can arrive at reality definitively through science and experimentation, but there are different opinions. Let’s take a closer look at what positivism is in its simplest form and how it is reflected in religion and philosophy.
Let’s start with a basic definition; What is positivism?
Positivism, also known as positivism, is a philosophical view put forward by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in the 19th century and saying that we can only reach correct information through science. It can be considered a current of empiricism because it argues that we can obtain knowledge only through experimentation. According to positivism, social sciences can have certain facts just like science.
- Auguste Comte
What exactly does positivism mean?
Positivism actually says that we should not be content with what we see, and that we should push the limits of it. Science is the most important and even the only way to knowledge. If there is a question and we cannot approach it with the scientific method, we should not deal with that question. Since reality can exist objectively outside the mind, we can approach it as a separate reality. So much so that there is a reality independent of the individual and society.
According to positivism, social reality is not reality, but the rules that limit the individual by existing outside the individual. Social society, like the world, operates according to certain laws. For this reason, scientists can reach the most consistent information by making experiments and observations on the society, just like measuring how many degrees water boils. In fact, this information can be used to reach a better society.
Positivism, which argues that society can be observed, studied and understood by experimenting, says that social data can be obtained and theories can be formed with an inductive reasoning. By conducting scientific studies on the society, their behavior patterns can be revealed and new social patterns that will govern the society can be created.
There are some basic principles that shape positivism:
According to the phenomenonalism rule of positivism, experience forms the basis of human knowledge. Therefore, scientists should only observe and record real experiences. At first, the explanation and recognition of supernatural events, which was a subject of positivism, was opposed.
According to the rule of nominalism, one of the most effective ways of recording experiences is science, but still nothing more than empirical research can be created. This rule has led to the discussion of whether social realities and individual realities are the same, and the main divergence in different views of positivism arose from this rule.
The rejection rule questions whether a social worker should consider the information obtained as scientific or rational. Evaluation should be examined independently of any subjective feelings and interpretations. Positivism argues that a social scientist should be impartial, just like a positive scientist.
There is also the rule of belief in the fundamental unity of the scientific method, advocated by positivism. Accordingly, all fundamental scientific laws arise from a single law, such as the law of gravity. Although the types of science in question are different, they basically all have some common principles and practices.
Auguste Comte explains positivism in three basic phases:
Auguste Comte, who can be called the founder of positivism, put forward the three-stage law to explain the historical social stage idea. Accordingly, there is the theological phase, the metaphysical phase, and the positive phase. To summarize briefly;
- The theological stage is the period when people explained everything with religion, like the Middle Ages.
- The metaphysical stage is the period when people explain everything in abstract terms, like the French Revolution.
- The positive phase is the period when people explain everything by experiment and observation, and it is the highest step of development.
Different approaches to positivism:
- Vienna Circle
- Frankfurt School
- instrumental positivism
Around Vienna:
The Vienna Circle conceptualized the world as empiricist and positivist. That is, there is only knowledge gained through experience. With the logical analysis to be made, information about the world can be collected. The main difference between the Vienna Circle and other positivism approaches is this logical analysis.
Logical analysis emerges with two kinds of propositions. What we could and could not reduce more simply with experimentally obtained. The Vienna Circle completely opposed the metaphysical field and either found them meaningless or interpreted them as logical errors. What they aimed for was a unified system of science.
Frankfurt School:
The Frankfurt School, especially after the Second World War, criticized positivism and argued that the methods used in social sciences and methods used in natural sciences could not imitate each other. For them, mathematical bias oversimplifies human interaction with the world.
The Frankfurt School, which rejects the idea of the unknown if it is not known scientifically, also opposes the positivist understanding of science. They do not believe that the theories and observations made in the social sciences can be impartial. This approach also rejects empiricism and commonsense understanding in social sciences.
Instrumental positivism:
Instrumental positivism is an approach shaped in American sociology. He was influenced by the idea that human behavior is evolutionary. One of their most basic features is that they aim to improve statistical techniques and tools. Instrumental positivism also endorses the individualist understanding of society.
They accept methods such as induction, verificationism, incrementalism. Instrumental positivism, which considers facts and values in connection with a kind of value-freedom concept, emphasizes the importance of team research and advocates social research. They say that many more centers should be established for this kind of research.
Relationship between positivism and religion:
Although there are many different views on the subject, when we examine the basis of the philosophical view of positivism, we see that it rejects metaphysical, dogmatic and divine concepts. Because, according to positivism, we can only reach the concept we call reality through scientific experimentation. If we look at Comte’s phases, it is clear that religion is seen as a past phase.
We talked about its reflection in philosophy and religion by answering questions such as what is positivism, which says that we can only reach the truth through science, and what does it actually mean? Of course, positivism is a much deeper subject, but in this article, we aimed to provide only basic information.
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