Читать книгу Political Science For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann - Страница 39

Like natural scientists, behavioralists believe that researchers can be truly objective when they’re conducting their research. Personal beliefs and preferences don’t matter and can be set aside during research. For example, a behavioralist believes that both an American researcher and a Russian researcher can look upon a certain event the same way and draw the same conclusions from the event, regardless of time and location.

For example, when studying the outbreak of war, the American political scientist could have researched an event 200 years ago and the Russian researcher could have studied it today. Both would come to the same conclusion. It is therefore possible to perceive events the same way, regardless of time, location, cultural upbringing, and personal preferences. This school of thought is called positivism or the French school of thought.

Positivism or the French school of thought was developed in the 19th century by French philosopher Auguste Comte. Positivism applies natural science techniques to study societies. It further stresses science and knowledge and advocates testing of all theories. Positivism believes that true objectivity exists and that all scientific experiences are based on sensory experiences — that is, social scientists can collect data using scientific observation, without bringing their own values into the research. This means that what you observe in the 18th century you’ll observe in the 21st century and then draw similar conclusions. Perception makes you aware, and researchers perceive it the same way regardless of time and place. True objectivity and grand theory is thus possible.