ABSTRACT
In the human sciences, positivism takes the form of a sociology that claims that scientific knowledge about society is possible. In one view of the history of science, Francis Bacon is taken to represent the "empirical" and Rene Descartes the "rationalist" basis of scientific thought. This chapter discusses the treatment of Boyle by stressing two final points. First, eulogy to the use of instruments brings in its train the extension of the human senses and the enhancement of human power. Second, the scientific community called into being by this continuing development is necessarily, in principle, a democratic one. Positivism is not one thing, but many things seeking a unity. It is a form of philosophy, and it is a form of sociology. Positivism is an epistemology, it is also a historical perspective. In any and all of these shapes it is a multihued affair; but it is often treated as a monolithic shibboleth and as a single figure for whipping.
