SCS 2150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Mathematical Proof, Theism

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Social Sciences
• Course: SCS 2150
• Professor: Zeina Abou- Rizk

Document Summary

Ontology: the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being. Positivism: a philosophical system that holds that every rationally justifiable assertion can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof, and that therefore rejects metaphysics and theism. [quantitative] knowledge existing outside of human experience, knowledge is not context dependent. There is a singular truth for each research question, that the answer is fixed and stable. [qualitative] knowledge is found within the realm of human experience, knowledge is dependent on socio-cultural, political, and emotional context. There are multiple truths; they are every changing truths and change according to the context of the research/researcher. Researchers that adopt this method are focused on participant"s interpretations of their social environments. Believes that he/she cannot understand the social world without understanding individual"s interpretations of it.