Behaviouralism

Key Questions
· What leads to authentic representation of ideas/ history/ text?
· What methodological considerations are involved in the creation of knowledge that is
true?
· Method in a way is the deployment of cognitive capacities in a particular manner such that
authentic knowledge creation is made possible?
· Is knowledge (empirical) facts or is knowledge analytical (tries to explain something)?
· Is analysis a form of subjectivity? (ie. an act where the subject and his subjectivity
becomes part of interpretation and understanding? – then there is the issue of how much of
the present is to become a part of the construal of the past. --- The representation of the past
is mediated by several level of subjectivities---- there is a double level of subjectivity, the
subjectivity of the creator and the subjectivity of the interpreter.
· Is the deconstruction of the past subject to double subjectivity?
· What forms of understanding, explanation, expression or communication are true
representations of history?
Introduction
How history and ideas are interpreted is intensely political, just as all the methodological issues
are. One of the intense debates, which spilled out from the realms of philosophy into real
politics were the debates between historicism and behaviourism which ensued after the
Behavioural movement in the aftermath of the World War II.
There were 2 modes of enquiry

One which
● privileged objectivity, facticity, empirical validity, and dismissed theory, ideology and
judgement.

Behaviouralism,
Is a mode of political enquiry
Aim 1 - Emerged in the political context where the process of decolonization had begun.
● It seeks to examine the behaviour, actions and acts of individuals and groups in different
social settings (and relates to the political system)- rather than the characteristics of
institutions such as legislatures, executives and judiciaries.
● The aim was to expand the scope of the study of politics which had become institution
bound – expand the frontiers of politics to include processes of individual and
institutional activities and behaviour.

Aim 2- The 2nd aim was to provide an objective quantified approach to the study of political
behaviour.
● To construct true knowledge which was
➢ value free,
➢ context and interpretation independent,
➢ accurate, objective and
➢ value neutral.
 ● According to David Easton, behaviouralism sought to be
➢ “analytic, not substantive,
➢ general rather than particular and
➢ explanatory rather than ethical.”
● According to Easton, traditional approach was
➢ too formalistic,
➢ too institution bound.”

Aim 3- The study of political science

● lacked the methodological rigour [ thoroughness] of the natural sciences-
● therefore the conclusions were inexact and erroneous [contained errors].

Thus search for authentic knowledge leads to the adoption of methods employed by the natural
sciences so as to construct a science of politics which had a firm objective basis.
● The idea was to construct knowledge that was scientific.
● Behaviouralists concede that opinions about values are relative to time and space. But it
was possible to create a science of politics on the lines of the natural science.
● They argued that objective knowledge about what actually happens in political life can be
established through methodology of modern sciences.
● This meant divesting [getting rid] knowledge of its historical, cultural, and social content.
To construct true knowledge and persevere against historicism. 1

1
Historicism- The term has developed different and divergent , though loosely related meanings.
Elements of Historicism appear in the writings of the philosopher Hegel, as well as those of Marx whom
he influenced that there is an organic succession of developments, a notion also known as historicism.
And
- That local conditions and peculiarities influence the results in a decisive way. The Historicist
position by Hegel suggests that that any human society and all human activities such as science
art and philosophy are defined by their history, so that their essence can be sought only through
understanding that.
- Against the atomistic view of society that views society as a sum of individuals.
- Hegel sees the relationship between individuals and society as purely organic not atomic: even
their social discourse is mediated by by language and language is rooted in etymology and
unique character. It thus preserves the culture of the past in thousands in thousands of half
forgotten frozen metaphors. To understand why a person is the way he is you must put that
person in a society: and to understand that society, you must understand its history and the
forces that shaped it.
Basics Tenets of Behaviouralism
The Chicago School of the 1930s under the leadership of Charles Merriam, together with Harold
D Lasswell, Gabriel Almond, Herbert Simon, Herman Prtichett incorporated the techniques of
science to build a science of politics and produced seminal studies of
● voting behaviour,
● urban politics,
● African American Politics,
● political psychology,
● comparative politics,
● the causes of war,
● political parties,
● public administration
● and methodology.

Three key areas on which the Chicago school focused:

1st precept [a general rule]
- Political Scientists should pay attention to developments in psychology which focused on
observable behaviour.
- Thus there was Shift from institutions to the study of observable behaviour
➢ Something that had an empirical reality is real,
➢ Something that was amenable to our senses,
➢ Something that senses could perceive (sense perception)
- Belief in the primacy of sense data.
➢ Assumption that sense data exists in pure form which is
★ amenable to observation ,
★ uncontaminated by personal preferences, predilections, value judgements,
★ unmediated by our consciousness,
★ unconstructed.
★ Something that was not mediated by our value judgement.
 - Science of politics was therefore a matter of observation, its description devoid of the
value judgements and subjectivities that could enter an account of interpretation.
● Thus for example democracy would be a matter of studying voting behaviour,
establishing patterns, future projections.
- It would not be a matter of end states- [ie it should be divorced from normative
concerns.]

The 2nd precept [rule] was that (Merriam) political science should look to natural science for
inspiration on method.
- The B. Revolution was in a sense technical revolution to construct a science of politics
which would resemble the technique of the natural sciences.
- The assumption was that following scientific techniques would help scientize politics,
would help it to become accurate and error free ; more objective.
- The assumption was that there is a basic unity of scientific method whereby it was
possible to construct a science of politics through the adoption of scientific method and
techniques.
- There was a move towards quantitative techniques and quantification of political
processes- observation, classification, verification and prediction.
- David Easton further defined 8 “intellectual foundation stones” of Behaviouralism.
● Regularities- The generalization and explanation of regularities.
● Commitment to Verification- The ability to verify one's generalizations
● Techniques- An experimental attitude towards techniques
● Quantification - Express results as numbers where possible or meaningful
● Values- keeping ethical assessment and empirical explanations distinct
● Sytemization- Considering the importance of theory in research
● Pure Science- Deferring to pure science rather than applied science
● Integration- Integrating social science and value.
3. The 3rd part of Behavioural vision was that political science should look to natural science as
an exemplar of science for practical use.
- Social science ought to produce knowledge that is constructive to the human endeavour
of forming and running government, just as natural science serves to bring nature
(partially ) under human control.
- For Merriam, a useful science of politics was one oriented towards deeper understanding
of the issues that confront modern government. It was Merriam’s intention that “social
science and natural science come together in a common effort and unite their forces in the
greatest tasks that humanity has yet faced- the intelligent understanding and control of
human.

The epistemological roots of behavioural revolution of the 50’s lie in logical positivism and
British Empiricism (Francis Bacon, Locke, Berkely, Hume)

British Empiricism
Whereas Locke and Berkely believe that human knowledge can go beyond sense experience,
- Hume contends that our knowledge is limited to sense experience.
- Makes a distinction between impressions and ideas .
- Impressions include all our sensations and passions, are more forceful and lively than
ideas.
● Ideas are faint images of these in thinking reasoning. Ideas are epistemologically
inferior to impressions and secondary status.
- Hume stands in marked contrast to a long tradition in Western Philosophy which asserts
that universal ideas not sense impressions--- are the proper objects of human intellect.
Positivism
In many ways it was Positivism which set the agenda for the philosophy of social sciences in the
20th c.
- Positivism is essentially the reconstruction or explanation of an event in accordance with
certain rules of correspondence.
- Positivism is concerned with explaining the human world-- in constructing the
knowledge of human world that is authentic
- Establish certitude [something that someone firmly believes is true.] of knowledge that is much
similar to the certitude of knowledge in the natural world.
- Belief that if only the human world is explained in the same way as the natural world, the
knowledge would be as exact.

The term Positivism was coined by August Comte in early 19th century and has subsequently
and has subsequently been revised and elaborated and complimented the Vienna Circle in the
early 20th century --- has taken on the names logical empiricism and logical positivism
- Positivism asserts that the only authentic knowledge is that which is based on sense
experience and positive verification.
- As an approach it seeks to replace metaphysics [abstract concepts such as being, knowing,
identity, time, and space] in the history of thought by scientific method observing the

circular dependence of theory and observation in science.

4 Key elements of Positivism as enumerated by Leszek Kolakowski (Positivist Philosophy) are

1. Rule of Phenomenalism
- It states that there is no real difference between essence and phenomena. That which can
be seen is real. Many traditional metaphysics assumed that reality is actually composed of
not just that which you see and experience but also the essence or substance
- The distinction between the essence and phenomena is misleading and should be
eliminated. We are entitled to record only that which is manifested in experience.
- Opinions about hidden or occult properties of these manifestations misleading and lead to
tampering of scientificity of knowledge.
- Task of scientific enquiry is to not go into the essence of any political phenomena.
Scientific principles have an objective basis in sensory experience.
- We can only ascertain what is observable and what is presented to our senses.
- What ‘is’ presents itself in exactly the same way to all conscious subjects.

2. Rule of Nominalism
- The nominalistic doctrine is opposed to the philosophical theory called extreme realism
according to which universals [whether nation, circle, animals, plants] have an
independent existence.
- Whereas rule of nominalism holds that universals have no independent objective
existence but exists only as names.
3. Facts and Values are distinct
- According to Behaviouralists value judgments and normative statements cannot be
knowledge
- They cannot be conceived of as science because values are subjective and relative and
the basis of knowledge cannot be varied, multiple and ever changing.
- Facts are unchanging and enduring.
- Values of good, justice, equality are matters of end state and are devoid of the objective
content of scientific knowledge
- Political Enquiry has to be free from assumptions of values.