Contribution Of Positivism To Society Philosophy Essay

Contribution Of Positivism To Society Philosophy Essay Since the invitation of the term of positivism in the late eighteenth century, this concept has been widely used and discussed. This method stresses on the use of quantitative evidence and is mostly used in the study of natural objects. As positivism provides people with a method to avoid speculation but to make scientific and reasonable prediction by the study of hard facts and scientific knowledge, the method is more and more used in the study of human society. The application of positivism in the study of society has brought many benefits and has promoted the development of society study. At the same time, there are some doubts about the ability of positivism to study society efficiently in the same way of studying natural objects. The essay is to critically discuss the contribution of positivism to the study of society. A rejection of speculation Positivism is firstly used in the study of natural science. With the assistance of positivism, the natural sciences have experienced great development and changes. Many new discover and findings have been made. At that time, the study of human society is still at a stage of the study of the abstract ideas and something metaphysical. The development of the society needs a better and deeper understanding about its nature and laws (Althusser. 1970). The study of society needs to be more regulated, systemized and scientific. The introduction of positivism has helped the study of science to get out of the old trap. Personally, the most important contribution of positivism to the study of science is the rejection of speculation. The introduction of positivism in social study leads people to make studies and predictions based on empirical data and hard facts. People make law-like regularities based on the study of the hard facts and generalize the conclusion to a wider scope in society. Comte is the first one to bring up the idea of sociological positivism. Actually, he brought up this concept under the influence of Enlightenment. The introduction and expanding of science have shocked the world. Comte has studied the sciences and the circular dependence of theory, and then he brought up the first sociological version of positivism (Gordon. 1991). He suggested that the society has three stages. The first stage is the theological phrase when people will get the knowledge and belief from God. Human society is governed by God and assessed in association with the divine world. People will take the doc trines and words of the church rather than the rational science. The second stage is called metaphysical stage. In this period, human will be aware of their innate rights and democracy and dictators should appear to defend the humanity rights. The final stage is the scientific one. It can also be called positive one (Craib. 1997). In this stage, the individual right will be most valued than in any other periods. Each one should have the right to get what he or she with his or her free will and ability. The doctrines and thoughts given by Comte are much different from the ones in modern sociological positivism. The theory is not absolutely right. The explanation and use of positivism are not fully developed in his work (Halfpenny. 2001). However, his brought up of positivism has made a great contribution. Personally, the meaningful important contribution of his version of sociological positivism is his appreciation of human right, the respect for objective natural rules and scientific knowledge. Positivism is born with a duty to fight against the past blind faith. It provides people with a new way to get to know the society and the world. At that time, it is a great fight against the dominion of peoples mind by God and the church. He suggests that the effective way to evolutes from the inferior theological stage to the superior positivism stage is through the objective and scientific study of the past of the society and other things. In this way, positivism leads people to give up t he reliance on God and the church for knowledge about humanity and the society and turn to the objective social disciplines. The study of society began a transition from speculation to reason and logic (Pleasants. 1997). The further development of positivism has more and more used hard facts and empirical data to fight against the metaphysics and speculation. The deployment of scientific methods Another great contribution of positivism to the study of society is its supreme valuation of the use of scientific methods like statistic analysis to study the world and the society. In the field of positivism, all the knowledge is generated based on the scientific study of past experience and data got in observation (Rabinow. 2006). Hard facts and empirical data are more powerful than any fancies. The philosophers of positivism try to use the methods which are used to study natural sciences to study the science. They try to make laws for the changes and development in society, conduct experiment to mimic the situation in the real world and try to use different factors as alternatives to make prediction of the outcome. One of the most important meanings of the use of scientific methods in the study of society is that it allows people to search for a reasonable casual explanation for the activities happen in the society. Otherwise, the social phenomena are most usually explained by the reasons of accidence and the will of God or something else (Smart. 2001). Just as has been mentioned, speculation is common in that situation. The use of scientific methods can help people to analysis all the external and internal factors in a scientific manner and to explore the causal relationship between these factors and the arising of a specific outcome. There is one fact has to be aware that though positivism stresses much on the importance on the use of facts and statistics, that does not mean the study of society is the pure study of these things. The ultimate aim of the use of the scientific methods is to conclude laws based on the analysis result of the facts and the empirical data. Another important contribution of positivism in the deployment of the scientific methods to study society is that, it helps to eliminate subjective thinking and opinions which may lead to bias in the outcome. One of the most obvious characteristics of the study of science is the objective attitudes and methods in the study. The application of these scientific methods in the study of social science, in a way, compels people to look directly at all the facts, no matter if the fact is pleasing or disgusting. Any lies which may make one feel better when looking at the facts can not exist in these scientific methods, as they can not be accounted as a statistical parameter (Cohen. 2007). The subjective opinions can not work to distort the outcome, as the objective data can not be influenced. That is why there are so many cruel but true social laws are discovered by positivism philosophers. However, there are also some shortcomings in the use of the scientific methods. In a sense, the study of social science is more complex than the study of science. Most factors in the study of science can be clearly defined and measured. If not all the factors can be defined at present, they can be further completed as science develops. In the study of social science, many factors can not be clearly defined and measured. The factors are too complex to name them all (Ashley. 2005). The function of them is also very complicated. Too much reliance on the use of the scientific methods will lead to an extreme situation for the researchers. After all, social science is much different with natural science. People especially the researchers can not neglect that fact, or they may lose the ability to think about the society in a human way. To work like a machine will be a disaster. The revealing of social law As has been mentioned in the last part, the ultimate aim of the use of the scientific methods are to discover the social laws hidden behind the diverse but similar social activities. Unlike the doctrine given by the church, the social laws given by sociological positivism are based on the numerous facts and data. Theses social laws are concluded not for the aim to guide peoples behavior and life, but just to reveal the objective laws that are working in the society (Rashed. 2007). The revealing of the hardened social laws helps people to get to know about the nature of the society. In this way, the study of human society has get deeper from an abstract but superficial level to a concrete deep level. Durkheim is a great sociological positivism researcher in Europe. He has studied about the laws of social structure which will guide the evaluation of the society and determine the rise or fall of a certain society. Thus with the laws, it is possible to define if a society is healthy or n ot. The laws can also make the researcher to bring up reform or remedy for the society at stake. The laws about the nature of the society are discovered by the researchers by the study of the hard facts and the empirical data. Then theses laws are used in every branches of the human social science. Many reforms about the society and the making of new laws from then on are made under the guide of these social laws. For example, John Austin introduced his utilitarianism theory in his foundation of jurisprudence. He found that the origination of government laws and rules is not the social contract, but the utilitarian thinking of human being. Some pleasing masquerades about the nature of the society have been laid bare. That is no bad. As if the society is to develop, the development can not be made on basis of the lies. The Noble Lies of Plato is not likely to be beneficial in the modern society. There is one thing very troublesome about the conclusion of laws in sociological laws. It is known that along with the development of sociological positivism, there have emerged many branches of this science. Different branches usually have different beliefs and different chosen of study method. The conclusions or the social laws they have made also differ much. It is not justified to say who is right or who is wrong. The social science is more complicated and has many different possibilities. Even with the use of objective scientific methods, it is hardly to reach a single right law. Personally, these laws can not be applied in every situation but should be used in consideration of the different context. 5.0 Conclusions Overall, the introduction of positivism in the study of society is a great development. It has helped the study of social science to break the limit of abstract metaphysical methods. Positivism has provided the social science with a new way to perceive the world. The most important contribution of positivism is that it helps people to break the limit of mind by God and the church. People turn to the study of hard facts and data from past and experiment to get knowledge rather than only from the teaching the church. The use of the scientific methods, people can understand the society in a more reasonable way. The subjective bias is avoided in the study. Sociological positivism researchers have also made many in depth laws based on the scientific study which provide people with more initiative to manage the society. However, there are many problems troubling the use of positivism in the study of society. To study society like a natural science is under great argument. Human society is much more complex and full of changes. Too much reliance on the scientific method but neglect the human thinking will turn to people into machines. The conclusions made will are not be reliable.

Educational Goals and Philosophy Essay example -- Reflective Writing T

Educational Goals and Philosophy Teaching is a complex occupation that requires as much empathy and emotion as it does educational skill. I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher, and realized after having my own children, that I would not truly be fulfilling my purpose in life if I did not pursue this dream. As a volunteer at the elementary school in my community, I loved the environment and took tremendous joy in watching the children learn. I felt that I had the ability, along with the dedication and desire, it would take to become a full time educator. To achieve this goal I will strive to give my students a positive beginning, provide confidence in their individual abilities, and prepare them for different aspects in life. I plan to teach elementary education, Kindergarten through the sixth grade. I sincerely believe that a child’s first experiences with education help to determine the path that child will choose to follow. The primary years of education sets the pace for an academic career through learning skills in conjunction with an optimistic outlook. A positive, or negative, first experience can determine a child’s attitude toward learning for the duration of a lifetime. I feel that each student has the potential and ability to gain knowledge, though each may have a different learning style. It will be my job, as a teacher, to experiment, explore, and determine the correct technique for each individual. In order to achieve this goal, I will need to be aware of the student’s personality, academic level, and any risk factors that child may have. I will work to inspire, motivate, and instill the confidence needed for each child to reach his/her full potential. I feel the purpose ... ...West Virginia. Once my career has been established, I will join the National Education Association. I will continue my education by pursuing my Master’s degree and attending various seminars and workshops. I want for myself, as well as my students, to be lifetime learners. I plan to stay up to date on current methods, ideas, and curriculums so that I can transfer the knowledge to subsequent generations. As I step closer towards the door of accomplishing my dream, I become more enthusiastic each day. To have the ability to influence, empower, and shape a young mind is breathtaking. I will strive to teach each child in a way that will meet his/her individual needs and support him/her to become all that is desired. I will indoctrinate the required knowledge along with other aspects of education that will benefit my students. â€Å"I† will make a difference.

Corporate governance: Business Issues and Ethics

Q1. Q1.Corporate administration is defined the procedure, such as the procedures of end definition and control, by which stockholders seek to guarantee that ‘their’ company is run in conformity with their purposes. In a broader sense, it comprises all histrions that contribute to the accomplishment of stakeholder ends outdoors and inside the company. In the narrow sense, it comprises the direction and stockholders of the company as the chief histrions.In public-listed organisation, corporate administration is needed because there is a principal-agent relation arose by the separation of ownership and control. The relationship is delicate due to being non framed in a contract. The followers will analyze: The stockholders have some rights, for illustration, vote in the general meeting, selling their stock and actioning the directors for misconduct. Besides, directors are duty for pull offing the belongings of stockholders in their involvements, including planning schemes and determination devising. They besides have some responsibilities, such as moving for the benefits of the company, responsibility of attention and accomplishments thanks to effectual and efficiency operation and responsibility of diligence. Therefore, the relationship between stockholders and managers should be near. In the state of affairs, the directors control the company but stockholders merely control indirectly their belongingss. It seems the stockholders are chief and direction is an agent to move in their involvement with the boundary of the company. In fact, both have struggle of involvement. The ground is that the outlooks of stockholders are to seek net income and increase portion monetary value and repute of the company. They think directors act in shareholders’ best involvements. However, directors expect to hold more power and higher wage, including fillip and benefit. Their action is based on their opportunism, non stockholders. For case, the directors may cut down the quality of merchandises for salvaging money in order to themselves involvement. Sometimes, it leads to drop the company’s repute. Hence, their behaviour differs from shareholders’ outlooks. Besides, the higher the director wage is, the more the outgo of the company is. In add-on, informational dissymmetry is that stockholders have limited cognition and penetration into the ends and makings of directors. Directors know more superiorinformation of the company than shareholders’ . In other words, a party knows some relevant information but non all parties. Sometimes, directors pursue self involvement so that it leads to stockholders loss and inefficient operation of the company. In the above quandary, corporate administration can equilibrate the involvements of many stakeholders in a company, for illustration, its stockholders, community, clients and direction. What is more, it provides a model for accomplishing the aims of a company. It has assorted models in planetary, including Asiatic theoretical account and Anglo-American theoretical account.There are three chief ethical jobs arose by corporate administration, as followers:First of wholly, the ethical issue is fiscal markets and insider trading. Although the premise of a perfect market is that stock monetary value reflects all publically available information, in fact, it is hard in the universe because of bad religion stocks. The ‘dot-com’ bubble means a company does non do any or do less net income but there is worth on the market. The bond is based on guess without to the full uncovering sum of uncertainness. Furthermore, a batch of pensionaries use their financess to put in many bonds l ost some parts of their income. That is to state, stock market does non to the full show the sum of uncertainness when stock monetary value consists of an component of guess. Nevertheless, institutional investors use other people’s money to put the stocks. The state of affairs reflects the investors wholly abuse others’ trust. Insider trading is that a portion of investors in the market have superior cognitions compared with others. When stock is sold or bought based on non-public information, insider trading arises at the minute. The ground is that staff and direction of a company must cognize early events which impact on its portion monetary value, insiders may take unnatural net income or avoid loss. Sometimes, staff in the company decides to exert their options or sell their portions based on their inside information. At the same clip, the action besides leads to unfairness, embezzlement of belongings, undermining of fiducial relationship and injury to bargainers and the market. Second, there is executive wage. ‘Fact cat’ wage is a charge for the outgo of CEO and directors, such as committee and fillip. The sum of wage is excessively monolithic. The job is that there is a serious contrast between their wages and public presentation. And so, it is of import about the involvement of stockholders and directors. In tonss of states, the growing of their wages outstrips shareholders’ returns. If their wage is higher, it amendss shareholders’ value and increases the company’s load even settlement. The ground is that higher wage paid leads to the lower net income property to stockholders. Therefore, a great trade of executive salary consists of portion and portion options to aline stockholders and managers’ involvement today. If the wage is related to performance-related wage, executives would endeavor to increase portion monetary value and shareholders’ returns. It leads to higher wages and fillips for the executives. Finally, the ethic job is about amalgamations and acquisitions. The original aim of amalgamations and acquisitions is to acquir an plus transferred from an proprietor to another proprietor because it will increase wealth on the company. Leaving the plus can cut down uneffective direction and higher costs. Sometimes, the amalgamations and acquisitions may be unsuccessful. It leads to blow money, resource and clip. It is critical that the aim would be distorted by directors because directors may prosecute involvements that differ from stockholders involvements and it exist struggle of involvement. On one side, executives pursue prestigiousness and repute. On the other side, stockholders seek net income and portion monetary value. Hostile coup d'etats, which are one of amalgamations, occur when an investor or a group of investors want to purchase a major stock of a company against the desire of its board. The stockholders of the company want to sell but the remainder stockholders do non desire to sell. In a company, there is different sentiment on the event. Merely if stockholders are willing to sell their portions, the hostile coup d'etats would rapidly interfere the staying shareholders’ belongingss. At the same clip, it besides arise other jobs. For illustration, they provide aureate parachute, a batch of money. Or, directors in secret send greenmail to the hostile coup d'etats because they intend to maintain their place after amalgamations. Apart from that, the company may reconstitute and downsize and it will originate more ethical issue, such as firing staff. Except the above three ethical jobs, corporate administration would do other ethical jobs. Q2.Suppliers and purchasers ever cause many different jobs. One of them is the abuse of power which is unequal state of affairss between both parties and would impact industry profitableness. By and large, the power of purchasers and providers is based on resource dependance theory. The theory depends on the grade on the party’s resources. The power is affected by two factors, as followers:Resource scarceness is the grade to which the parties have or lack the merchandises. That is, it is the extent of the goods’ panic. For case, the provider has adequate resources, and purchasers are less importance and dependance on the provider so that the provider wields power over the purchasers, or frailty versa. Resource public-service corporation is the degree to which the parties need or do non necessitate the trade. In other words, it is the extent of the goods’ utility for the party. For illustration, the supplier’s resources are utile and the purchaser dependance on the provider, as a consequence, the provider wields power over the purchasers, or frailty versa. Dickering poweris the ability of a party ( A ) in a state of affairs to exercise influence over another party in a trade in order to accomplish a trade which is benefit to A. Harmonizing to the above factors, there is a simple sum-up. When a supplier’s resources are sufficient and non of import to purchaser, or the buyer’s resources are scarce and critical to the provider, the purchaser may hold more bargaining power than the supplier’s. Conversely, if the supplier’s resource has less scare and is of import to the purchaser, the provider has dickering power over the purchaser. When a party exercises power over another’s one, the power may be abused or used lawfully. Therefore, the power should be used suitably. In short term, providers obtain benefit and net income advantages if they gain exerting extra power. In long term, nevertheless, the cumulative state of affairs has disadvantages because the purchasers find other providers who lose the clients. Besides, possible purchasers may fall in with other purchasers to increase force per unit area on the provider, or providers compose co-ops to confront the powerful purchasers. Therefore, they may alter the state of affairs. They can reason selling monetary value, restricted conditions and so on.There are two of import factors that affect the procedure of globalisation. They drive globalisation in concern, as followers:Cost advantagesParties pursue the lower cost for production, including natural stuff, labor and constituents.Gramovernment influenceThere are different criterions for ordinance, such as working patterns, safety and environment protection. When providers put into planetary, they should see four state of affairss, as followers:Calciferolifferent manner of making concernThere are assorted civilization and impressions in the universe. When people from different states face same state of affairs, they have different thought and rating so that their behavior is easy contradiction. For giving gift, graft and corruptness between providers and purchasers, assorted states have assorted attitudes, for illustration, citizens in China like giving gift which is friendly niceness. Sometimes, a gift is hard to make up one's mind whether it is bribery or courtesy. On one manus, the behavior of graft is an offense. On the other manus, rejecting gift besides harms the concern relationship and jeopardises the trade. There are ethical quandaries so that many states would hold tolerated gift-giving patterns and apply assorted restrictions on gift. Besides, the purpose of giving nowadays is considered. It should be regarded as acceptable when giving gift is without an purpose to obtain advantages, if it is non perceived and if it does non hold any consequence. If a provider and a purchaser exchange gift and it is non that merely one party provides gift to another for a long clip, it is acceptable. In fact, it is hard to separate which is pure giving gift, graft or corruptness. The job still exists in different states and houses.Impacts on autochthonal concernSuppliers from other counties enter into local and they would see cost and other advantages to compare with local rivals. Furthermore, they may harm autochthonal houses by presenting strong competition in labor and merchandise. The significance is that providers from other states may installation local suppliers’ settlement or resettlement. It will impact local industries and take to more cardinal societal and economic decay.Calciferoliffering labor andenvironmentcri terions‘Race to the bottom’ occurs when the demand is for the lower-cost production in developing states. The method can help providers to salvage some money. It may do some ethical issues for providers because lower costs consist of less environmental protection, hapless labour conditions, and lower attending to safety and wellness. Furthermore, the providers may supply compulsory overtime, naming child labor, below life pay and failed to hold statutory rights to clip off recognized. In add-on, they may utilize unsafe chemicals that cause serious harm to human and environmental wellness in developing states.Tocopherolxtended concatenation of dutyThe deduction of planetary supply is that single providers are faced with the chance of an drawn-out concatenation of duty. No longer acceptable to reason that the moralss of providers impact on their rivals was merely non any of their concern. The assorted economic and societal conditions show in other states, every bit good as the inequalities brought to the surface by international trade. It means that the flat playing field, which is caused by international concern, is replaced with the sloping and rough playing surface of globalisation. Mention: Andrew Crane & A ; Dirk Matten,Business moralss: Oxford, 3rd edition Assignment 2

Members of the British Royal Family