Geography, asked by jeannie7959, 1 year ago

Difference between positivism and quantitative revolution

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Answered by Anonymous
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Explanation:

The quantitative revolution (QR)[n] was a paradigm shift that sought to develop a more rigorous and systematic methodology for the discipline of geography. It came as a response to the inadequacy of regional geography to explain general spatial dynamics. The main claim for the quantitative revolution is that it led to a shift from a descriptive (idiographic) geography to an empirical law-making (nomothetic) geography. The quantitative revolution occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and marked a rapid change in the method behind geographical research, from regional geography into a spatial science.

In the history of geography, the quantitative revolution was one of the four major turning-points of modern geography – the other three being environmental determinism, regional geography and critical geography).

The quantitative revolution had occurred earlier in economics and psychology and contemporaneously in political science and other social sciences and to a lesser extent in history.

Philosophers do not agree upon what is meant by science and knowledge. This means that there are differente views on the understanding of what science is. There are two traditional views: positivism and humanism (Macionis & Plummer, 2008)

Positivism is a set of philosophical approaches that seeks to apply scientific principles and methods, drawn from the natural and hard sciences, to social phenomena in order to explain them. So in this way it is logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation.

The term positivism designates the thought of the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857). Comte argued that social research, until the nineteenth century, was speculative, emotive and romantic and that as a result it lacked rigour and analytical reasoning. Therefore Comte rejected metaphysical and normative questions as they could not be answered scientifically. Instead he posited to concentrate on facts and truths in order to explain and predict human behaviour.

Quantitative methods are used to collect data. Researchers use law like statements and verify their statement through empirical observation, the way it is done in the natural, ‘hard’ sciences. Positivism is characterized by the importance of observation, a belief in verification or falsification, the belief that causality is nothing more than repetition, a suspicion of non-observable theoretical entities, a unity of method and the ardent denial of metaphysics.

There are various forms of positivism. The two most discussed are logical positivism (based on verification) and critical rationalism (based on falsification). Logical positivism was further developed by the Vienna Circle in the 1920's. In their opinion social laws can be tested by doing measurements with large sample sizes and in this way laws can be verified (Kitchen, 2003). Critical rationalism was developed in response to logical positivism by Karl popper. In his opinion the truth of a law doesn't depend on the number of verifications but whether it can be falsified (Kitchen, 2003).

In Geography, positivism was introduced in the 1950’s. Before that time Geography had very much been a descriptive science but many argued geography should be more scientific and focus on finding laws to explain processes. The Quantitative revolution (1950’s) changed Geography from an ideographic to a nomothetic science

Answered by diogonwazota
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Answer:

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Explanation:

The quantitative revolution was formulated around the paradigm of spatial science associated with the philosophy of positivism (the advancement of science through the formal construction of theories and scientific laws).

While Positivism belongs to epistemology which can be specified as philosophy of knowing, whereas methodology is an approach to knowing. As a philosophy... Positivism belongs to epistemology which can be specified as philosophy of knowing, whereas methodology is an approach to knowing. As a philosophy.

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