> 1. Logical positivists/logical empiricists, like scientific realists, > tend to reject Marxist approaches to social sciences because they > largely reject social sciences>>
Having said that, let me back up and say that the translation of The Scientific Conception of the World that I have now just referred to doesn't say this. It is quite 'ecumenical' and cites Marx twice and Marxist theory once in a positive way (which doesn't surprise me, given what has been posted about the VC on this list and what I read at online sources like marxists.org.) According to the authors of this (naively) scientistic manifesto, Marx in sociology and political economy is in keeping with anti-metaphysics and proper scientific (i.e., empirical but not necessarily experimental) attitude (but so are Feuerbach, Smith, Ricardo, JS Mill, James and myriad others). Nor are they hostile to psychological phenomenology (indeed, Brentano and Meinong get more specific praise than Marx!). On the other hand, although the document is noteworthy for its inclusiveness, it isn't very specific about why this or that approach in the social sciences is scientific according to these philosophical and scientific sages. If a proponent of whatever declared he hated metaphysics and embraced science, if he had a post at top university or institute, it looks like he could have got listed. It reads more like a who's who of European and North American academia (not including metaphysicians and theologians) of the era. And it really sets up scientism (positivist, realist, etc.) and rationalism for a hard fall come WW II. http://gnadav.googlepages.com/TheScientificConceptionoftheWorldeng.doc I think this is the entire document, though I had a hard time seeing where the preface segued into the main text. If you are interested in the history of science and the history of philosophy, it is a fascinating document to read through. CJ _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
