Positivism vs. Habermas: A Comparative Analysis

Positivism vs. Habermas
Auguste Comte:
Born in Montpellier, France, January 19, 1789; died in Paris, September 5, 1857. He is considered the founder of positivism and the discipline of sociology. He early rejected traditional Catholic and monarchical doctrines. In 1848, he founded a Positivist Society.
Jürgen Habermas:
Born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1929. He studied at the Frankfurt School and became a leading representative of Critical Theory.
Positivism:
Positivism, a philosophical trend since the 19th century, greatly influenced politics and knowledge. It asserts that only scientific knowledge, achieved through the scientific method, is authentic. Positivism is characterized by being useful, true, accurate, and constructive, without accepting determinism. Its two main components are philosophy (providing a framework for individual culture) and government (acting at the collective level). It aims to reorganize social life through scientific knowledge to control natural forces.

Positivism's Social Order: A sufficient social authority is necessary for positive knowledge. The evolution of positivism is divided into three stages (the Law of Three Stages):
1. Theological State: Reality is explained through divine and supernatural powers. Society is military-style, based on order.
2. Metaphysical State: Reality is explained through abstract laws and general principles. The supernatural is questioned; society is governed by lawyers.
3. Positive State: Reality is explained through laws derived from observation and experimentation. Society is industrial, led by scientists and scholars.
The transition between these states represents the progress of society.Vienna Circle:
A scientific and philosophical movement founded in Vienna, Austria in 1922 by Moritz Schlick; disbanded in 1936. It focused on the logic of science, aiming to distinguish science from non-science and develop a common language for all sciences.
The Vienna Circle advocated a scientific worldview, supporting the empiricism of Hume, Locke, and Mach; the method of induction; and the unification of scientific language. It rejected metaphysics.