Value-Free Conception of Science

Conceptual Overview

Auguste Comte (1798–1857) and Henri de Saint-Simon (1760–1825) first called for a positivist “science of society” and envisioned a social science that emulated the natural sciences. Under the influence of the Enlightenment revolution, the task of the new discipline would be to explain the relationship between the various parts of society as it evolved in progressive stages toward a new social order, the industrial society. The idea that the search and discovery of truth and reality is possible created a spirit of optimism. Comte, St. Simon, and others influenced by the Enlightenment believed that human beings, and particularly social engineers, could achieve [Page 1602]mastery over natural and social forces to create better social worlds. A century later, building on the contributions of the Enlightenment philosophers, especially David Hume, a group of philosophers in the 1920s known as the Vienna Circle, including Rudolf Carnap, Moritz Schlick, and others, were strong proponents of the positivist approach to knowledge building. They extolled the linear and incremental nature of scientific progress that draws upon past experiences and discoveries contributing toward building predictive theories. The task of social science, as in the natural sciences, would be to identify recurring, unmalleable, systematic patterns and transhistorical, valid principles to explain permanence among flux.

Those who believe in a value-free approach to social science advocate building on prior knowledge to formulate hypotheses and the use of quantitative methods to measure social and psychological processes through experimental or quasiexperimental designs. Researchers often use surveys and questionnaires that uncover aggregate differences between classes of individuals, groups, and organizations. Findings emphasize the importance of persisting structures of mind, group, organization, or society as a whole. Researchers should remain uninvolved with the subject under study so as not to cloud their findings or reaffirm their normative expectations; rather, the researchers should approach the problem as if objective facts are waiting to be discovered. Like the model used in the natural sciences, value-free research in the social sciences should let the facts speak for themselves, contributing to the advancement and accumulation of knowledge through modest, incremental, fact-oriented research.

Max Weber, drawing upon the work of Wilhelm Dilthey, pointed out that it is important to distinguish the social sciences from the natural sciences. The natural scientist is interested in abstract laws; the social scientist is interested in the meaning that human actors ascribe to their actions. Human action is subjective, guided by motivations and intentions of actors. The appropriate method for understanding actors' motivation is empathy, or verstehen, not objective detachment. Regarding the question of values, Weber saw them as a central part of society. As members of society, sociologists have values that will influence which problems, they, as social scientists, choose to address; this does not drive out the ideal of value-free research, however. Values still enter into what one chooses to do. The emphasis should be on a proper choice of techniques and methods to ensure that data collection and analysis are unbiased and objective; in Weber's words, the research endeavor should be “cleansed of values.” The theorist can still move toward bias-free explanation of causes and consequences of actions and can uncover general patterns and structures that are empirically grounded.

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