Understanding Humans: Positivism and Hermeneutics
3 important questions on Understanding Humans: Positivism and Hermeneutics
How did the Positivists think about the Social Sciences?
- They believed that social sciences differ from natural sciences, only in degree, not in kind.
- Therefore, methods and standards, used in natural sciences, can (in principle) be used in social sciences as well.
What is the philosophy of Hermeneutics?
- Hermeneutics states that the social sciences cannot be approached in the same way as we approach the natural sciences.
- Dualism in sciences.
Who was Wilhelm Dilthey?
- Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) was a philosopher alligned to the hermeneutics way of thinking.
- Humans can only be understood if you take their tradition into account.
- Human world is both mental and historic.
- Natural sciences "erklaren" social sciences need "verstehen".
- Erklaren means, searching for causality through Natural Laws.
- Verstehen means understanding/interpret someones behaviour, rather than find causality.
- Place yourself in the shoes of your subject, and relive his experience.
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