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Disadvantages Of Positivism

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Positivism is a method of studying society that relies on scientific evidence to understand how society functions. Positivism assumes that the only world is the one we experience through our senses. In other words, what we see and hear is the true world. According to positivists, science is the only reliable way to truly understand the world, and we are only limited by our technology. If we do not have the technology to explore a particular area of society, then we cannot understand it scientifically and therefore we will not truly understand its function. Positivism also believes that universal laws govern society and that societies are ordered. Because societies are ordered, the structures, relationships, and causes within the society can …show more content…

First, positivism assumes that there is only one world, and therefore only one reality in which everyone and everything exists. This allows cause and effect to be established and confidently applied to fit everyone’s reality because everyone exists within the same reality. In other words, once an explanation is decided upon, scientists can know that it applies to everyone because everyone shares the same reality. With idealism, this cannot occur because each person interprets reality differently and a single theory about a particular social phenomenon may not apply to some peoples individual realities. For example, a positivist would say that if poverty is caused by three specific factors, then those are the factors that cause it for everyone. With idealism, poverty would be caused by one factor for on individual, and another factor for another individual based on how they interpret the situation. With everyone living in the same reality, people can agree on the cause of poverty and therefore have a better understanding of the factors that cause it. If everyone is living in different realities, then it is impossible to truly understand, and know, what causes social phenomena like

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