The Problem of the Scientific Status of Sociology. Jürgen Habermas´s Intervention in the Positivism Dispute
Keywords:
Science, Dialectics, Philosophy, Method, SociologyAbstract
This article seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas of science and philosophy that the German thinker Jürgen Habermas implicitly presupposes in his intervention in the positivism dispute. This debate, that dates back to 1961, focused on the logic of social sciences and had as its central question which are the suitable methods for studying society. From Habermas´s intervention, it is possible to recognise the problems that arise when trying to give methodological independence to sociology. To show this, the present work developes an explanation of his arguments about the concepts of totality that both analytical and dialectical theories of science assume, as well as their relation with the study object, experience, history and praxis. Taking all this into account, a reconstruction of what the author understands by science and philosophy is realized. Both the explanation and the reconstruction aim to uncover the scientific status of sociology from a critical perspective on the traditional methods used in social sciences.
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