ABSTRACT
The positivist tradition within the philosophy of science underwent numerous transformations in its development from the early writings of Comte and Mach, through the radical empiricism of the Vienna Circle, to the more recent and circumspect contributions of Carnap, Hempel, Braithwaite, and Nagel. The bold claims of early positivism are absent in the later formulations. There still exists a heavy emphasis on observation, prediction, and the incorrigibility of data, but the crucial importance of theory is acknowledged, a step unthinkable in any strictly empirical system of thought. Due to such modifications, the logical empiricism of the 1950s seemed capable of providing a rigorous, robust, and firm epistemological and methodological foundation for analyses of the structure, function, and nature of science. But that assessment was soon to change.
