POSITIVISM - FROM WEAKNESSES TO NEW OPENINGS
POSITIVISM - FROM WEAKNESSES TO NEW OPENINGS

Summary/Abstract: Time emphasizes periods of glory and decay for different lines of thought. For the positivist approach, the XIX century has been the period in which it flourished. Its way of seeing the world, inspired from science, represented that newness the society needed for a general social change. Although it impressed and was borrowed by many scientists all over the world, in the XX century positivism stepped into an era of the unknown. The constructivisms have taken its place of fame. It has fallen so much that some authors considered it dead. Intrigued by this change, we started our journey in finding why the positivism failed and if there is a resurrection way for it. We analyze the basic ideas of positivism and with the help of critical analysis we indicate the reasons for its decline. After understanding its weaknesses, we follow the recent scientific discoveries, seeking to reinforce the basic principles of positivism and we highlight a new positivist law through which we can study and understand the world. We conclude the paper by proposing new research directions that can be analyzed through the positivism lenses: ongoing processes like globalization, Europeanization or Americanization, and economic, environmental or health problems.

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