THE GREAT PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE WAR

The great philosophy of science war has been waged for centuries regar ding the ''correct'' way to understand human behavior, especially as a basis for helping people help themselves. For Francis Bacon, the corr ect way involved seeking empirical understanding as the basis for acti on. Far Auguste Comte, the correct way was largely empirical, but with the recognition of the place of the theoretical in science. For Rudol ph Carnap, it was largely the logical-theoretical, bur with the recogn ition of the place of the empirical in science. The fourth positivism, here termed the ''value positivism'' of the human sciences, rejects t he metaphysics of its age-which means wholesale rejection of logical p ositivism. And like every positivism before it, this latest entry into the greet philosophy of science war is filled with inconsistencies fo r which it, too, will be misunderstood, misquoted, and maligned, howev er much it also helps us to see human behavior more clearly and howeve r much it leads to a more humane and effective helping profession.