Introduction to Positivism

About the lecture

In this lecture, we provide a broad introduction to the philosophical theory of positivism, focusing in particular on: (i) the two 'waves' of positivism: the first two hundred years ago, and the second at the beginning of the twentieth century; (ii) the work of Auguste Comte (1798-1857), the 'law of three stages', and the development of the theory of positivism; (iii) the second 'wave' of positivism: the Vienna and Berlin Circles, the concept of logical empiricism, and the verification principle; (iv) the impact of Hitler's rise to power in spreading positivism around the world as key thinkers were forced out of central Europe; (v) further developments by figures such as Karl Popper (1902-94), including his preference for a falsification principle instead of a verification principle; and (vi) the gradual weakening of positivism under the impact of its critics, including the work of Thomas Kuhn (1922-96).

About the lecturer

William Outhwaite is Emeritus Professor is the Department of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University. His research focuses on social theory and the philosophy of social science, and some of his recent publications include Social Theory (2015), Europe Since 1989 (2016), Contemporary Europe (2017) and Transregional Europe (2020), an edited book on Brexit (2017) and (co-edited with Stephen P. Turner) The SAGE Handbook of Political Sociology (2018).