Positivism and Social Constructionism - Essay Example

The rise of Industrial Revolution during the late 18th century1 throughout Europe brought about enormous changes in the way of living for the whole nation. Different industries were created that resulted on the creation of specialized jobs that led to the hierarchy in the society. Along with the gradual changes in the society, Europeans became more aggressive in studying the evolving knowledge and ideas of man. In this paper, two main popular ideas that can became known throughout Europe and gained a larger number of supporters will be discuss: positivism and social constructionism. Positivism was introduced by the French philosopher August Comte which argued that "positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by empirical sciences."2 Positivism emerged due to the failure of speculative philosophy (e.g. Classical German Idealism) to unravel some philosophical problems, which had arisen as a result of scientific development. Positivist philosophers went to the opposite extreme and rejected theoretical assumptions as a means of acquiring knowledge. Positivism pronounced false and senseless every single problem, concepts and propositions of traditional philosophy on being, substances, causes, etc., that could not be explained or confirm by experience because of its high level of abstract nature. Positivism claim to be essentially new, non-metaphysical ("positive") philosophy, modeled on empirical sciences that provide certain methodology in finding answers to specific sociological questions. Positivism is basically empiricism brought to extreme rational consequences in certain respects: inasmuch as any knowledge is empirical knowledge in one form or another, no speculation can be knowledge. Positivism has not escaped the batch of traditional philosophy, since its own propositions such as dismissal of speculation and phenomenalism turned out to be unverifiable by experience and, therefore, metaphysical.3 Moreover, positivism believes that the main objective of knowledge is basically to explain the phenomena experienced and not to question whether it indeed exists or not. As the primary mover of positivism, Comte sought to apply the methods of observation and experimentation that were initially used in the hard sciences, to the field that we come to know as sociology. He believed that the solution to some unrelenting social problems could be the application of certain hierarchical rules. Hence, he also believed in the development of mankind towards a more superior state of civilization with the help of the science of sociology itself. In his later years however, Comte became involved in theology, to the point where positivism became, despite of its earlier claims to its scientific approach, more of a religion, than anything else. Another advocate of positivism and greatly influenced by Comte is an English philosopher named John Stuart Mill. In his book "System of Logi"c (1843), Mill attempted to provide an explanation not only of logic but also the different methods of science and their applicability to both social and natural phenomena. Mill's outset on logic was not totally that of modern logicians. In addition to formal logic which he identified as "the logic of consistency", he also believed that there exists a logic of proof that can show how evidence proved or tends to prove the conclusions humans draw from the evidence. This assumption led him to the analysis of causation and to a report on inductive reasoning which up to now remains as the starting point of most modern discussions.4 Traditionally, the development of positivism can be classified on three stages. The proponents of the first stage were Comte, E. Litre and P. Laffitte in France, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer in England. Together with the problems of the theory of knowledge and logic, the foremost position in this stage was consigned with sociology that was rooted on Comte's objective of changing society on the basis of science. The emergences of the second stage of positivism also known as empirio-criticism can be traced back during the 1870s and can be linked with Ernst March and Avenarius. This idea rejects even the formal acknowledgment of objective real entities. Neo-positivism on the other hand, which is identified as the last stage of positivism become known due to the Vienna Circle and of the Berlin Society for Scientific Philosophy. On this stage, logical atomism, logical positivism, and semantics were combined. The focal point of this positivism is rooted on the philosophical problems of language, symbolic logic, the structure of scientific investigation, among others.5 Another important sociological theory that was developed in Europe was social constructionism, which was conceptualized by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann thru their book "The Social Construction of Reality." Social constructionism focuses on the uncovering the different ways in which individuals and groups contribute in the formation of their perceived reality. This involves looking at the ways how social phenomena are created, institutionalized, and made into tradition by humans. Socially constructed reality is seen as an ongoing, dynamic process wherein reality is re-produced by people acting on their own interpretations and knowledge of it. Berger and Luckmann argue that "all knowledge, including the most basic, taken-for-granted common sense knowledge of everyday reality, is derived from and maintained by social interactions."6 Thus, when people interact with each other, they do so with the understanding that their particular perceptions of reality are related, and as they proceed upon this understanding their common knowledge of reality becomes reinforced. In view of the fact that people settle this common sense of knowledge, human classifications, significations and institutions come to be offered as part of an objective reality. Therefore, it is in this regard that it can be said that reality is indeed socially constructed. Within the paradigm of social constructionist ideas, a social construction is an idea that they perceived to be true and natural, for those inside the cultural community that accept it. The proposition therefore is that social constructs are in some way a choice made by each individual and not a given idea or law that resulted from divine will. Hence, putting this on an economic perspective, the social hierarchy determines what seems to be real and important to the members of a given social class and goals set by those in power. Although social constructionism holds a diverse array of thoughts and beliefs, it is basically divided into two major groups: weak social constructionism and strong constructionism. The former likely to distinguish some underlying objective factual elements to reality while the latter strongly believe that everything is merely a social construction. However, it does not follow that they see the world as imaginary realm but rather deem that the concept of what is real and what is not are itself a mere social construct, therefore identifying if something is real depends on the society you belong to.7 The works of Berger and Luckman's has also been influential in the sociology of knowledge, which includes the sociology of science, where sociologists like Karin Knorr-Cetina, Bruno Latour, Barry Barnes, Steve Woolgar and the likes apply the ideas of social constructionism and relate it to what science has normally characterized as impartial facts to the processes of social construction, with the primary goal of presenting that the individual subjectivity inflict itself on those facts we accept to be objective, not solely the other way around. A predominantly provoking title in this line of thought is Andrew Pickering's Constructing Quarks: A Sociological History of Particle Physics.8 The two mentioned philosophies above influenced a lot of great thinkers on their study of the economy and how it came about. Among these are John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx along with other European thinkers. It paved the way for the further understanding of the economic activities during the industrialization period. During this period, different social class and hierarchy existed that led to the creation of specialization of labor. Hence, creating a label for each member of the society. The ones with an advantage in terms of access to economic opportunities became dominant force in the society. This standard of living was also incorporated to the countries that European countries colonized. Marx also advocated the structuralism concept in the way that he believed that those who are in power define what standard of living is acceptable as well as the type o9f work each individual should get into. This typification is obvious and true until now. Those in power define social status. This idea can be applied when studying the vanity business. Businessmen create an ideal characteristic to encourage buyers to buy what they sell. For instance, those selling shampoos without taking into consideration the fact that really few people possessed this kind of characteristic see straight hair as the acceptable and beautiful. In this way, those people selling hair-straightening products can easily attract many buyers. Another example would be the concept of thin as sexy. The emergence of super models with paper-thin body created the concept of sexiness. As a result, different exercise, special diets and even medical procedures that will help people lose weight became an instant hit. People subscribed to this idea because of the fact that the society dictates them so. Beautiful is now described as those with big breast, thin body and super straight hair. Beauty is a very subjective subject but because of the commercialization brought by media, it is boxed in one classification. In this way, companies gain more profit because of the use of bandwagon and everyone else follow. Moreover, this idea can also be applied when studying the value of material things in the market. Something is valuable not because of itself but because of the willingness of people to spend money to buy it. The people are the ones dictating what is valuable and what is not. This is called supply and demand and economics wherein the more demand for the product is, the higher its cost will be. The rise of different ideas during the 18th and 19th century is very helpful in understanding the different changes that is happening in the world as of the moment. The changes in beliefs- as to what is fashionable and what is not, what is beautiful, the status symbol of different brands, the cool music, the good movie, etc. Those in power, which creates more profit for these people, dictate almost everything. Indeed, reality is defined by individuals themselves and not by any divine authority. We are free to choose what we want to believe in and what not. Religions would be a very good example for this. Different religions believe in different gods and practice their own rituals. No one can really say that what he believes or whom he worships is the real and true God. A chair is not a chair because God said so, but because we all agreed to call it a chair. The people within the same social construct are the ones who decide what is real and what is not. The amount of money you have or the number of businesses you own is the measure of richness for most of us. But this is because everyone agrees that money or wealth is the most important commodity in this world. That is why everyone is striving to be famous or to be rich because they believe that this will give them happiness. Positivism and social constructionism are two very significant developments in the study of social behavior especially in the economy of first world countries. These countries became rich because they are the ones who invented and introduced tot eh world the things that they should have and even the choice of entertainment. That is why imported products easily penetrate many markets in the world because the people living in these countries are convinced that imported goods are better than their local brands. If you look at multinational companies like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Coca Cola and Mcdonalds to mention a few, these companies made it big in almost every country that they are in, not because their products are exceptional, but because of the marketing strategy and how they construct reality to their customers. Reality like any other thing in this world is an ever-changing event. What is socially acceptable now may be rejected in the future. A good example would be the concept of beauty. During the ancient times, fat women are the ones seen as beautiful as oppose to the super thin bodies of teenagers nowadays. This reality will depend on the ever-growing market of the world. Those who will make new products for the people dictate the trend. Business is a very competitive world and people in this area continuously innovate and respond to what they deem to be profitable for them. Positivism and social constructionism somehow is very helpful in the way businesses run and how they create their own market. Reference: _________ (Online) Viewed on December 12, 2005.http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/esd/Earth/Industrial_Revolution.html _________ (Online) Viewed on December 12, 2006. http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/c/o.htm#comte-auguste _________ (Online) Viewed on December 12, 2006. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/help/mach1.htm _________ (Online) Viewed on December 14, 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/social-constructionism ___________(Online) Viewed on December 14, 2006. http://www.utilitarianism.com/jsmill.htm Read More