Lecture 1
Philosophy of social science The philosophy of social science reflects on social science
itself. Rather than studying society directly, it asks meta-level questions such as:
● What counts as scientific knowledge in the social sciences?
● How should social scientists conduct research?
● What distinguishes scientific theories from non-scientific ones?
● What role do observation, theory, and values play?
Logical positivism
Logical positivism emerged in the early 20th century, mainly through a group of
philosophers and scientists known as the Vienna Circle, based in Vienna.
Their aim was to develop a strictly scientific worldview, inspired by:
● The success of the natural sciences
● Advances in logic and mathematics
Why “Positivism”?
The term positivism comes from positive in the sense of:
● “What is posited”
● “What is given”
● “What is laid down in experience”
It does not mean “optimistic” or “positive” in an emotional sense.
Core Ideals of Logical Positivism
1. Strict Empiricism
● All genuine knowledge must ultimately be based on empirical observation.
● Claims that cannot be connected to observation do not count as knowledge.
2. Rejection of Speculation
● No place for metaphysical, theological, or speculative theories that go beyond what
can be observed.
● Theories must be grounded in data, not in abstract reasoning alone.
3. Ideal Scientific Language
● Use of formal logic and mathematics to construct a precise scientific language.
● This helps avoid vague concepts, unclear terms, and unsupported conclusions.
The overarching goal was to make science clear, rigorous, and reliable.
Core ideas: verifiability The Verifiability Criterion of Meaning → One of the most important
ideas of logical positivism is the verifiability criterion of meaning:
● The meaning of a statement lies in the method by which it can be verified.
,In other words:
● To understand what a statement means, we must know how to test it empirically.
● If no possible observation could confirm or disconfirm a statement, it is meaningless
(in a scientific sense).
Verification
● Verification means making empirical observations that lead us to conclude that a
statement is true (or false).
● Scientific language should consist only of statements that are verifiable in this way.
Demarcation: Science vs. Non-Science
Verifiability as a Demarcation Criterion
Logical positivists used verifiability to distinguish:
● Scientific statements (verifiable)
● Non-scientific statements (not verifiable)
Statements about metaphysics, religion, or morality were considered non-scientific, not
necessarily false, but meaningless from a scientific point of view.
Logic and Mathematics
● Logic, mathematics, and statistics are not empirically verifiable.
● However, they are seen as linguistic and formal tools that help scientists express
empirical claims precisely.
● They do not describe the world directly, but structure scientific reasoning.
Induction and the Role of Observation
The Inductive Method
Logical positivism relies a lot on induction, a way of reasoning where you look at specific
observations and then make a general rule from them. For example, seeing the sun rise
every day and concluding, “The sun always rises in the east.” It is a way of learning from
experience. Here’s how it works:
● Scientists first look at what’s happening (make observations).
● From these observations, they try to figure out general rules or theories.
● They then keep checking new observations to see if these rules still work.
The main idea is: “Let the data speak for themselves.”
This means that science starts with what we can see or measure, and builds theories step
by step from the facts.
Behaviorism
,Behaviorism is an approach in psychology (and social science more broadly) characterized
by:
● Exclusive focus on observable behavior
● Behavior understood as responses to external stimuli
● Complete avoidance of internal mental states (beliefs, desires, thoughts)
Why?
● Internal cognitive processes are not directly observable
● Therefore, they are unverifiable and not scientifically acceptable according to logical
positivism
Behaviorism: Logical Positivism in Social Science Classical Conditioning Example →
Behaviorism illustrates how logical positivist ideas were applied in psychology. Before
conditioning
● Food (unconditioned stimulus) → salivation (unconditioned response)
● Whistle (neutral stimulus) → no response
During conditioning
● Whistle + food → salivation
After conditioning
● Whistle (conditioned stimulus) → salivation (conditioned response)
Karl Popper: A Critical Turn
Karl Popper strongly criticized logical positivism, especially its reliance on induction and
verification.
Core Ideas
● Human knowledge is fallible and always provisional → We can never be 100% sure
we’re right, all theories might be wrong someday.
● We should avoid dogmatic thinking (treating theories as certainly true).
● Science should be based on critical thinking, not on seeking certainty → Instead of
trying to prove theories true, we should test them and try to find ways to prove
them false.
Problem of induction
Popper pointed out a fundamental logical problem:
● Reasoning from specific observations to universal laws is logically invalid.
● No number of observations can prove a general law.
● Therefore, induction can never fully justify scientific theories.
, Popper’s conclusion:
Induction has no legitimate role in science.
Falsifiability as demarcation criterion
What Is Falsifiability?
For Popper, what makes a theory scientific is falsifiability:
● A scientific statement must be testable in such a way that it could, in principle, be
proven false.
● Scientific theories must “clash with the world.”
Example: Unicorn Statements
“Unicorns exist and don’t exist” – meaningless
“Unicorns either exist or they don’t” – logically true, but not empirical
“Unicorns exist” – falsifiable (we could search and fail to find them)
“Unicorns don’t exist” – also falsifiable
Only statements like (3) and (4) can be scientific.
Examples of unfalsifiable theories Popper criticized theories that explain every possible
outcome and therefore cannot be falsified.
Freud
● Claim: Every young boy has an Oedipus complex — or is repressing it.
● Any evidence counts as confirmation.
● No possible observation could refute the theory.
Marx (according to Popper)
● Broad historical claims linking economy, politics, and ideology.
● Flexible enough to explain any historical outcome.
● Therefore, unfalsifiable in practice.
Example of a falsified theory
The Secularization Thesis
Popular in 19th–20th century sociology:
● Modernization, rationalization, and the rise of science inevitably lead to a decline in
religious authority and influence.
Philosophy of social science The philosophy of social science reflects on social science
itself. Rather than studying society directly, it asks meta-level questions such as:
● What counts as scientific knowledge in the social sciences?
● How should social scientists conduct research?
● What distinguishes scientific theories from non-scientific ones?
● What role do observation, theory, and values play?
Logical positivism
Logical positivism emerged in the early 20th century, mainly through a group of
philosophers and scientists known as the Vienna Circle, based in Vienna.
Their aim was to develop a strictly scientific worldview, inspired by:
● The success of the natural sciences
● Advances in logic and mathematics
Why “Positivism”?
The term positivism comes from positive in the sense of:
● “What is posited”
● “What is given”
● “What is laid down in experience”
It does not mean “optimistic” or “positive” in an emotional sense.
Core Ideals of Logical Positivism
1. Strict Empiricism
● All genuine knowledge must ultimately be based on empirical observation.
● Claims that cannot be connected to observation do not count as knowledge.
2. Rejection of Speculation
● No place for metaphysical, theological, or speculative theories that go beyond what
can be observed.
● Theories must be grounded in data, not in abstract reasoning alone.
3. Ideal Scientific Language
● Use of formal logic and mathematics to construct a precise scientific language.
● This helps avoid vague concepts, unclear terms, and unsupported conclusions.
The overarching goal was to make science clear, rigorous, and reliable.
Core ideas: verifiability The Verifiability Criterion of Meaning → One of the most important
ideas of logical positivism is the verifiability criterion of meaning:
● The meaning of a statement lies in the method by which it can be verified.
,In other words:
● To understand what a statement means, we must know how to test it empirically.
● If no possible observation could confirm or disconfirm a statement, it is meaningless
(in a scientific sense).
Verification
● Verification means making empirical observations that lead us to conclude that a
statement is true (or false).
● Scientific language should consist only of statements that are verifiable in this way.
Demarcation: Science vs. Non-Science
Verifiability as a Demarcation Criterion
Logical positivists used verifiability to distinguish:
● Scientific statements (verifiable)
● Non-scientific statements (not verifiable)
Statements about metaphysics, religion, or morality were considered non-scientific, not
necessarily false, but meaningless from a scientific point of view.
Logic and Mathematics
● Logic, mathematics, and statistics are not empirically verifiable.
● However, they are seen as linguistic and formal tools that help scientists express
empirical claims precisely.
● They do not describe the world directly, but structure scientific reasoning.
Induction and the Role of Observation
The Inductive Method
Logical positivism relies a lot on induction, a way of reasoning where you look at specific
observations and then make a general rule from them. For example, seeing the sun rise
every day and concluding, “The sun always rises in the east.” It is a way of learning from
experience. Here’s how it works:
● Scientists first look at what’s happening (make observations).
● From these observations, they try to figure out general rules or theories.
● They then keep checking new observations to see if these rules still work.
The main idea is: “Let the data speak for themselves.”
This means that science starts with what we can see or measure, and builds theories step
by step from the facts.
Behaviorism
,Behaviorism is an approach in psychology (and social science more broadly) characterized
by:
● Exclusive focus on observable behavior
● Behavior understood as responses to external stimuli
● Complete avoidance of internal mental states (beliefs, desires, thoughts)
Why?
● Internal cognitive processes are not directly observable
● Therefore, they are unverifiable and not scientifically acceptable according to logical
positivism
Behaviorism: Logical Positivism in Social Science Classical Conditioning Example →
Behaviorism illustrates how logical positivist ideas were applied in psychology. Before
conditioning
● Food (unconditioned stimulus) → salivation (unconditioned response)
● Whistle (neutral stimulus) → no response
During conditioning
● Whistle + food → salivation
After conditioning
● Whistle (conditioned stimulus) → salivation (conditioned response)
Karl Popper: A Critical Turn
Karl Popper strongly criticized logical positivism, especially its reliance on induction and
verification.
Core Ideas
● Human knowledge is fallible and always provisional → We can never be 100% sure
we’re right, all theories might be wrong someday.
● We should avoid dogmatic thinking (treating theories as certainly true).
● Science should be based on critical thinking, not on seeking certainty → Instead of
trying to prove theories true, we should test them and try to find ways to prove
them false.
Problem of induction
Popper pointed out a fundamental logical problem:
● Reasoning from specific observations to universal laws is logically invalid.
● No number of observations can prove a general law.
● Therefore, induction can never fully justify scientific theories.
, Popper’s conclusion:
Induction has no legitimate role in science.
Falsifiability as demarcation criterion
What Is Falsifiability?
For Popper, what makes a theory scientific is falsifiability:
● A scientific statement must be testable in such a way that it could, in principle, be
proven false.
● Scientific theories must “clash with the world.”
Example: Unicorn Statements
“Unicorns exist and don’t exist” – meaningless
“Unicorns either exist or they don’t” – logically true, but not empirical
“Unicorns exist” – falsifiable (we could search and fail to find them)
“Unicorns don’t exist” – also falsifiable
Only statements like (3) and (4) can be scientific.
Examples of unfalsifiable theories Popper criticized theories that explain every possible
outcome and therefore cannot be falsified.
Freud
● Claim: Every young boy has an Oedipus complex — or is repressing it.
● Any evidence counts as confirmation.
● No possible observation could refute the theory.
Marx (according to Popper)
● Broad historical claims linking economy, politics, and ideology.
● Flexible enough to explain any historical outcome.
● Therefore, unfalsifiable in practice.
Example of a falsified theory
The Secularization Thesis
Popular in 19th–20th century sociology:
● Modernization, rationalization, and the rise of science inevitably lead to a decline in
religious authority and influence.
