Analysis of Scientific Realism in the Dichotomy between Positivism and Anti- Positivism: An Implication for Social Sciences
Volkan Doğan

Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze scientific realism in the dichotomy between positivism and antipositivism and to position this analysis on the epistemological axis. The study also aimed to demonstrate that scientific realism provides a more comprehensive explanation regarding the legitimacy of social sciences compared with positivism and anti-positivism. The results of this study suggest that, on the epistemological axis, scientific realism exhibits a closer stance to anti-positivism than positivism. In addition, since scientific realism analyzes metaphysical facts within the boundaries of science and social sciences involve metaphysics because of their nature, the study argued that scientific realism provides a more comprehensive explanation than other scientific approaches regarding the legitimacy of social sciences. Finally, the results reveal that there is a complex relationship between the axes of scientific evaluation suggested by Burrell and Morgan (1979).

Full Text: PDF