Positivist Dispute in German Sociology

The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology T H E O D O R W. A D O R N O HANS ALBERT RALF DAHRENDORF JURGEN HABERMAS H A R A L D PILOT K A R L R. P O P P E R

Translated by Glyn A d e y and David Frisby

m v

H E B

y

HEINEMANN LONDON

Heinemann Educational B o o k s L t d LONDON

EDINBURGH HONG

KONG

IBADAN

MELBOURNE SINGAPORE

NAIROBI

AUCKLAND

KUALA

LUMPUR

JOHANNESBURG

L U S A K A NEW DELHI

KINGSTON

I S B N o 435 82655 7 Paperback I S B N o 435 82656 5 © 1969 Hermann Luchterhand Verlag © 1976 E n g l i s h translation Heinemann Educational B o o k s Reprinted 1 9 7 7

Published by Heinemann Educational B o o k s L t d 48 Charles Street, L o n d o n W i X 8 A H Printed and bound in Great Britain b y Morrison and G i b b L t d , L o n d o n and E d i n b u r g h

TORONTO

CONTENTS I n d e x of S o u r c e s

vii

I n t r o d u c t i o n to the E n g l i s h T r a n s l a t i o n

ix

Theodor W. Adorno

Introduction

T h e o d o r W, A d o r n o

Sociology and Empirical

i Research

68

Karl R. Popper

The Logic of the Social Sciences

Theodor W. A d o r n o

On the Logic of the Social Sciences

105

87

Ralf Dahrendorf

Remarks

123

J iirgen H a b e r m a s

The Analytical

on the Discussion Theory of Science and

Dialectics

131

Hans A l b e r t

The Myth of Total Reason

163

Jiirgen Habermas

A Positivistically

198

Bisected Rationalism

Hans A l b e r t

Behind Positivism's

Back?

Harald Pilot

Jiirgen

Empirically

Hans Albert

A Short Surprised Postscript to a Long

Karl R. Popper

Reason or Revolution?

fable

Habermas'

226 Falsi-

Philosophy of History

Introduction Selected B i b l i o g r a p h y

25 8 283 288 301

v

INDEX OF SOURCES Theodor W. Adorno

Theodor W. Adorno

Karl R. Popper

Theodor W. A d o r n o

Ralf Dahrendorf

Jiirgen Habermas

I n t r o d u c t i o n . O r i g i n a l : ' E i n l e i t u n g ' , in Der Positivismusstreit in der deutschen So^iologie, N e u w i e d / B e r l i n , 1 9 6 9 . S o c i o l o g y and E m p i r i c a l R e s e a r c h . Original: 'Soziologie und empirische F o r s c h u n g ' , in K . Z i e g l e r (ed.), Wesen und Wirklichkeit des Menschen, Festschrift fur Helmut Plessner, G o t t i n g e n , 1 9 5 7 T h e L o g i c of the S o c i a l S c i e n c e s . O r i g i n a l : ' D i e L o g i k der S o z i a l w i s s e n schaften. R e f e r a t bei der Tubinger A r b e i t s t a g u n g der D e u t s c h e n G e s e l l schaft f u r S o z i o l o g i e , O k t o b e r 1 9 6 1 ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fit So^iologie und Social psychologie, v o l . 1 4 , 1 9 6 2 . ( E n g l i s h trans­ lation r e v i s e d b y the a u t h o r . ) O n the L o g i c o f the Social S c i e n c e s . O r i g i n a l : ' Z u r L o g i k der S o z i a l w i s s e n schaften. K o r r e f e r a t zu P o p p e r , O k t o b e r 1 9 6 1 ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fier So^iologie und So^ialpsjchologie, v o l . 1 4 , 1 9 6 2 . R e m a r k s on the D i s c u s s i o n . O r i g i n a l : . ' A n m e r k u n g e n z u r D i s k u s s i o n ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fit So^jologie und So^ialpsychologie, v o l . 1 4 , 1 9 6 2 . T h e A n a l y t i c a l T h e o r y of Science and Dialectics. Original: 'Analytische Wissenschaftstheorie und Dialektik. E i n Nachtrag zur K o n t r o v e r s e zwischen P o p p e r u n d A d o r n o ' , in M . H o r k h e i m e r (ed.), Zeugnisse. Theodor W. Adorno %um sech^igsten Geburtstag, F r a n k f u r t , 1 9 6 3 . vii

INDEX OF

SOURCES

T h e M y t h of T o t a l R e a s o n . O r i g i n a l : ' D e r M y t h o s d e r totalen Vernunft. D i a l e k t i s c h e A n s p r i i c h e i m L i c h t e undialektischer K r i t i k ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fur Sovfologie und So^ialpsychologie, v o l . 1 6 , 1964. A Positivistically Bisected Rationalism. O r i g i n a l : ' G e g e n einen p o s i t i v i s t i s c h halbierten R a t i o n a l i s m u s . Erwiderung eines P a m p h l e t s ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fur So^iologie und So^ialpsychologie, v o l . 1 6 , 1964. Behind Positivism's B a c k ? Original: 1 m R i i c k e n des P o s i t i v i s m u s . D i a l e k t i s c h e U m w e g e in k r i t i s c h e r B e l e u c h t u n g ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fur So^iologie und So^ialpsjchologie, v o l . 1 7 , 1 9 6 5 . J i i r g e n H a b e r m a s ' E m p i r i c a l l y Falsifiable P h i l o s o p h y of H i s t o r y . O r i g i n a l : ' J t i r g e n H a b e r m a s ' empirisch falsifi2ierbare G e s c h i c h t s p h i l o s o p h i e ' , in Kolner Zeitschrift fiir So^ialpsychologie, v o l . 20, 1 9 6 8 . A S h o r t S u r p r i s e d P o s t s c r i p t to a L o n g Introduction. Original: 'Kleines verw u n d e r t e s N a c h w o r t 2 u einer g r o s s e n E i n l e i t u n g ' , in Der Positivismusstreit in der deutschen Sosfologie, N e u w i e d / B e r l i n , 1969. R e a s o n or R e v o l u t i o n ? O r i g i n a l in Archives europeennes de sociologie, v o l . 1 1 , 1 9 7 0 . (This v e r s i o n r e v i s e d by the author.)

DAVID

FRISBY

INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

T h e present v o l u m e contains s o m e of the k e y c o n t r i b u t i o n s to a c o n t r o v e r s y w h i c h has raged in social scientific and p h i l o s o p h i c a l circles in G e r m a n y since 1 9 6 1 . T h e i m m e d i a t e o r i g i n of the c o n t r o v e r s y l a y in the conference held b y the G e r m a n S o c i o l o g i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n in T u b i n g e n in 1 9 6 1 o n the l o g i c of t h e social sciences in w h i c h P o p p e r p r e s e n t e d h i s t w e n t y - s e v e n theses o n that topic. T h i s w a s replied t o b y A d o r n o a n d the discussion w h i c h f o l l o w e d at that conference is s u m m a r i s e d b y D a h r e n d o r f . In a different f o r m , the c o n t r o v e r s y w a s c o n t i n u e d b y H a b e r m a s a n d A l b e r t f r o m 1 9 6 3 o n w a r d s a n d m a n y other w r i t e r s t o o k up v a r i o u s issues a n d aspects of t h e c o n t r o v e r s y . O f these other c o n t r i b u t i o n s , o n l y P i l o t ' s w a s added to t h e o r i g i n a l G e r m a n edition. I n 1 9 6 9 the present v o l u m e a p p e a r e d in G e r m a n y w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e additional material b y A d o r n o . T h i s p r o v o k e d the short a f t e r w o r d f r o m A l b e r t w h o w a s d i s m a y e d at t h e f o r m w h i c h the v o l u m e h a d taken. T h i s translation o f t h e 1 9 6 9 v o l u m e contains an additional essay not in t h e o r i g i n a l , n a m e l y , P o p p e r ' s r e v i e w of t h e G e r m a n v o l u m e . T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n to the translation sets o u t to locate this c o n t r o v e r s y w i t h i n a w i d e r context. S o m e r e m a r k s are m a d e o n t h e m o s t a m b i g u o u s n o t i o n s in this dispute, n a m e l y those of•. p o s i t i v i s m a n d scientism. T h e fact that n o o n e in the c o n t r o v e r s y claims t o be a p o s i t i v i s t has l e d D a h r e n d o r f t o s p e a k of 'the t h i r d m a n ' in the d e b a t e and G i d d e n s to s u g g e s t that 'the debate is l i k e H a m l e t w i t h o u t the p r i n c e ' . O n the other hand, all the c o n t r i b u t o r s to the debate h a v e claimed allegiance either t o critical rationalism or to critical theory. T h i s adherence to the central r o l e o f theoretical criticism is one r e a s o n w h i c h l e d D a h r e n d o r f to suggest, w i t h reference to t h e o r i g i n a l P o p p e r 1

2

1

R . Dahrendorf, The Vositivist Dispute in German Sociology, p. 1 2 ; . - A. Giddens, cd., Positivism and Sociology (London, 1974), p. i S .

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DAVID

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A d o r n o debate that a superficial glance at the c o n t r o v e r s y m i g h t incline one to the v i e w that 'it c o u l d indeed h a v e a p p e a r e d , a s t o n i s h i n g l y e n o u g h , as if P o p p e r and A d o r n o w e r e in a g r e e ­ m e n t . ' T h i s is clearly far f r o m b e i n g the case since, as the con­ t r o v e r s y p r o c e e d e d , e v e n the notion of a debate b e t w e e n c o m ­ p e t i n g standpoints b e c a m e problematical. 3

T h e r e is s o m e difficulty, t o o , in asserting that this c o n t r o v e r s y is m e r e l y a m e t h o d o l o g i c a l dispute and can thus be seen as an e x t e n s i o n of earlier c o n t r o v e r s i e s in the social sciences in G e r m a n y , n o t a b l y the Methodenstreit, and the Werturteilsstreit. H o w e v e r , in o r d e r to e x a m i n e this claim, some attempt w i l l b e m a d e to sketch t h e earlier disputes in the social sciences in G e r m a n y in o r d e r to h i g h l i g h t the distinctive features of the present c o n t r o v e r s y . N o r should o n e a s s u m e that this dispute is confined to s o c i o l o g y as the title of the v o l u m e m i g h t s u g g e s t . Indeed, since the dispute contained in the p r e s e n t v o l u m e did n o t cease w i t h its p u b l i c a t i o n in 1969 b u t rather w a s c o n t i n u e d , either t h r o u g h its e x t e n s i o n to other areas, or to a n e x p a n s i o n of the issues p r e s e n t e d here, it w o u l d s e e m fruitful to sketch out the later stages of the c o n t r o v e r s y a n d s o m e of the other c o m ­ m e n t a r i e s u p o n the dispute. F i n a l l y , the issues presented in this dispute d o not m e r e l y h a v e relevance to the d e v e l o p m e n t of the social sciences in G e r m a n y . It can be a r g u e d that not o n l y does the p o s i t i v i s t dispute raise i m p o r t a n t issues f o r a d o m i n a n t tradition in the social sciences o u t s i d e G e r m a n y b u t that it has direct r e l e v a n c e f o r s o m e of the recent c o n t r o v e r s i e s w h i c h h a v e taken place in the p h i l o s o p h y of science and in the social sciences in the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n tradition in recent years.

1 W h i l s t p o s i t i v i s m m a y be the ' g h o s t in the machine' in this dispute, it is certainly easy to d i s c o v e r a w i d e r a n g e of possible definitions o f the constituent e l e m e n t s o f p o s i t i v i s m . It is difficult to find a g e n e r a l l y acceptable nominalist definition of the term. P o s i t i v i s m is not a static entity but is itself d y n a m i c a n d had taken different f o r m s in v a r i o u s historical contexts. T o take one e x a m p l e , P o p p e r ' s assertion that he is not a p o s i t i v i s t m a y be seen in the l i g h t of his criticism o f the V i e n n a C i r c l e , of w h i c h he w a s n e v e r a m e m b e r . P o p p e r h a d been v e r y critical of the l o g i c a l positivists 3

R. Dahrendorf, loc. cit., p. 1 2 3 - 4 .

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TO E N G L I S H

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a n d it is certainly not p o s s i b l e to classify him, in any s i m p l e manner, in that s c h o o l . H o w e v e r , as H a b e r m a s and others h a v e a r g u e d , logical p o s i t i v i s m is o n l y one variant—albeit a m o s t i m p o r t a n t one in the d e v e l o p m e n t of the p h i l o s o p h y of science in this c e n t u r y — o f p o s i t i v i s m . A l t h o u g h m a n y writers h a v e p o i n t e d to the l o n g history of m a n y features of p o s i t i v i s m , especially if one takes into account the distinctive m a n n e r in w h i c h it has i n c o r p o r a t e d features of b o t h e m p i r i c i s m a n d rationalism, m o d e r n p o s i t i v i s m d e v e l o p e d w i t h certain types o f reflection u p o n the g r o w t h of the natural and m o r a l sciences. 4

6

In a section of Knowledge and Human Interests in w h i c h H a b e r m a s attempts to r e c o n s t r u c t the p r e - h i s t o r y of m o d e r n p o s i t i v i s m , the a u t h o r e x a m i n e s the w o r k of the m o s t w i d e l y - k n o w n a n d p e r h a p s least read of the p o s i t i v i s t s , A u g u s t e C o m t e . A s w e l l as a r g u i n g that C o m t e sets out to justify 'the c o g n i t i v e m o n o p o l y of s c i e n c e ' t h r o u g h a p h i l o s o p h y of h i s t o r y w h o s e ultimate g o a l is scientific technical p r o g r e s s , H a b e r m a s s h o w s that C o m t e ' s v a r i e d u s a g e s of the term ' p o s i t i v e ' can b e translated into a set of m e t h o d o ­ l o g i c a l rules w h i c h m a y b e s u m m a r i s e d as f o l l o w s : 1. 'all k n o w l e d g e has t o p r o v e itself t h r o u g h the sense certainty of s y s t e m a t i c o b s e r v a t i o n that secures intersubjectivity.' (/