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Mill and Comte on psychology
Author(s) -
Heyd Thomas
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(198904)25:2<125::aid-jhbs2300250203>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - mill , epistemology , sociology , philosophy , social science , history , archaeology
John Stuart Mill and Auguste Comte were important promoters of science but took opposite sides with respect to the possibility of a science of psychology. This difference between them is explained by noting Mill's phenomenalist and Comte's realist commitments, as well as their respective sociopolitical and pragmatic orientations. It is briefly noted that the options developed by Mill and Comte need not be considered exclusive of each other, and this implies that the research programs that they underwrite also may not be as incompatible as some recently have argued.