Metaphysical Monism Research Articles

Deconstructing Methodological Falsificationism in International Relations

The idea that international politics can be a theoretical science logically homeomorphic to theoretical physics finds its most perspicuous recent expression in a methodological falsificationist program for its realization. But the program is a syllabus of epistemological errors which, upon detailed examination, collapses into incoherence. This article gives particular attention to three aspects of the program: the principle of interdependent deduction, the falsifiability criterion and the critical testing policy. Despite the systematic and resolute efforts on the part of its adherents to fix a methodological grammar for international studies, the program of methodological falsificationism is revealed to be: essentially a complete failure. The main source of the difficulty is located in the failure to appreciate the role of metaphysics in the sciences which, contrary to the standard positivist-empiricist view, constitutes the driving force behind scientific discoveries. Since a monistic metaphysics, however, may be neither possible nor desirable for the social and political sciences, a deconstructive metaphysical program is recommended. The final conclusion that vastly increased attention needs to be given to ontological and metaphysical issues seems completely warranted.

The Class of Moral and Political Sciences, 1795-1803

In 1795 the Thermidorian Convention created the Class of Moral and Political Sciences as a branch of the new National Institute. This attempt to fulfill Enlightenment aspirations for sciences of man and society was in practice the first effort to institutionalize several modern social sciences.1 The official image of the Class was a republican gallery of talents purged of the taint of aristocracy and of royalism fatal to the ancien regime academies.2 Yet the social composition and the political opinions of the Class have never been systematically examined to show how much continuity and how much change it represented from ancien regime cultural elites. A collective biography of the Class reveals a significant number of members of the former privileged orders and a surprising diversity of political views within the parameters of moderation tolerated by the Directory. Moreover, scholars have generally assumed that the group of physicians and philosophers known as Ideologues, proponents of empiricist epistemology, monist metaphysics, and liberal politics, dominated the Class and rankled First Consul Bonaparte sufficiently to provoke dissolution of the Class in 1803.3 A study of the pub-

The Physics of the Physicist and the Physics of the Psychologist

International Journal of PsychologyVolume 8, Issue 1 p. 61-72 International Platform for Psychologists THE PHYSICS OF THE PHYSICIST AND THE PHYSICS OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST Lewis W. Brandt, Corresponding Author Lewis W. Brandt University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, Canada I wish to thank the physicists Drs. L.H. Greenberg, S.I.H. Naqvi, G, Papini, and M.A. Rothman and the psychologists Drs. D. Bakal, W.C. Calvert, and A.J. Cropley for reading various drafts of the manuscript and making helpful and encouraging comments.Requests for reprints should be sent to Lewis W. Brandt, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchevan Regina Campus, Regina, Saskatchevan, Canada.Search for more papers by this author Lewis W. Brandt, Corresponding Author Lewis W. Brandt University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, Canada I wish to thank the physicists Drs. L.H. Greenberg, S.I.H. Naqvi, G, Papini, and M.A. Rothman and the psychologists Drs. D. Bakal, W.C. Calvert, and A.J. Cropley for reading various drafts of the manuscript and making helpful and encouraging comments.Requests for reprints should be sent to Lewis W. Brandt, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchevan Regina Campus, Regina, Saskatchevan, Canada.Search for more papers by this author First published: February 1973 https://doi.org/10.1080/00207597308247063Citations: 11 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume8, Issue1February 1973Pages 61-72 RelatedInformation