Operationalism in physics parallels behaviorism in social science
Evidence
The trend may be related to a development in scientific method: operationalism in the physical, behaviorism in the social sciences. The common feature is a total empiricism in the treatment of concepts; their meaning is restricted to the representation of particular operations and behavior. The operational point of view is well illustrated by P. W. Bridgman’s analysis of the concept of length: We evidently know what we mean by length if we can tell what the length of any and every object is, and for the physicist nothing more is required. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 132
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the twin methodological currents — operationalism and behaviorism — that Marcuse later attacks, and introduces the Bridgman illustration.
- XREF: connects to: Empirical sociology’s operational methodology is itself ideological — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 447; Operational concepts terminate in improved methods of social control — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 431; Modern physics reframes reality as instrumentality rather than being — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 565 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Psychological variables must be inferred from observable behavior rather than measured directly
#exemplifies(0.90) - Behaviorist communication models turned social scientists into servants of power
#exemplifies(0.85) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 588 - Sociology attempts an exact positivist science of social facts
#exemplifies(0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1523 - Empirical sociology’s operational methodology is itself ideological
#expands(0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 447 - Operational concepts terminate in improved methods of social control
#expands(0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 431 - Modern physics reframes reality as instrumentality rather than being
#complicates(0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 565 - Physics’ pursuit of objectivity paradoxically de-materialized nature
#complicates(0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 575 - Science and society mutually constitute each other rather than existing separately
#expands(0.70) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1599