Beyond Positivism: Habermas’ Critical Engagement with Scientific Rationality
Keywords:
Keywords: Positivism, Deductive-Nomological, Critical theory, Reductionism, empirical-analytic, historical-hermeneutic, critical-dialecticalAbstract
Abstract
This paper gives a systematic analysis of the major themes of the methodological unity of natural and social sciences. However, the way in which this debate has been conducted is subsequently found to be misconceived. This is primarily because of the adoption of one particular conception of science, that of positivism, to study of social phenomena. Also it is shown that there are a number of different conceptions of science and that is erroneous to discuss the methodological unity issue simply because of the one particular characterization of the natural sciences. To set the stage I shall try to explain the adoption of Habermas’ critical social theory, an appropriate framework for the social sciences. An analysis of Habermas’ views on knowledge, cognitive interest and scientific method is followed by his social theory. Also his attempt to reconstruct and defend the epistemological views in Marx’s writings which is of considerable relevance to the discussion of critical theory.
References
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