The Contemporary Critique Of Positivism

The aim of this theoretical paper is to critically discuss the validity of replicability and universality principles of positivism from a sociological perspective.

The main critiques of contemporary positivism are given by the schools of thought represented by multifarious thinkers. The critique of positivist sociology, which confirms itself based on continuous replication and aims to reach universal laws, is given and the validity of replicability principle from the sociological point of view, is discussed. The discussion begins with brief premises of classical positivism, proceeds to contemporary critique of logical positivism and is complemented by the post-2010 Replication Crisis.

The particular emphasis is given to the Replication Crisis, and the reasons why replication studies are rare in sociology, are discussed.

As a result of the study, it is concluded that positivist claims: replication and universality principles lose their validity in sociology due to ontological, epistemological, individual and structural aspects