Positivist Sociology and its Critics

This is a carefully edited selection of the seminal articles and papers on positivism which has been an important cornerstone of sociology. Positivism has had an enormous influence on both the theoretical ambitions and empirical research strategies of sociology ever since Comte coined both the terms ‘positivism’ and ‘sociology’ over a century ago. This influence was strengthened during the heyday of logical positivism in the early decades of this century, with its rigorous attempt to rid all the sciences, natural and social, of metaphysical speculations. The whole of the history of sociology could be described as a struggle with positivism, its proponents attempting to secure the foundations of a scientific study of society and its critics seeking to identify what it is about the social that frees it from positivist canons. These books gathers together the most influential voices in the struggle over the very nature of the discipline of sociology.