What is the difference between fact and value? Comment on their significance in sociology?
The issue of objectivity is the take-off ground for the emergence of sociology. Early sociologists like Comte, Spencer, Durkheim and indirectly Marx advocated for objective discipline of society. The work and approach of these sociologists, also known as positivists, is based on Fact-value dichotomy approach.
Facts are empirically verifiable observations while values refer to subjective disposition arising out of experience, bias, preferences and beliefs. Fact has its own independent existence and remains the same in every situation and for all observers. Values can be personal, cultural, temporal and situation specific and may not remain the same over a period of time.
Positivists treat fact and values as two distinct entities and consider that values do not play any role in the sociological enquiry. But this approach has been contradicted by many thinkers. Particular among them are Wilhelm Dilthey, Max Weber and other interactionists. According to them the basic constituent of society is human being who has got subjective consciousness and they cannot be separated from their self
According to some scholars like Michael Polyani and Hilary Putnam, fact and value are definitely distinct but they cannot be disengaged from each other and also values play some very important role in enabling the social logical research successful. For example, values play a very important role of segregating useful observations from useless observations and it also plays an active role in the acceptance of the conclusion of a sociological enquiry. The work of a scientist goes through peer evaluation. Peers see the fit and accuracy of the work and that itself depends on the contemporary values of scientific fraternity in the context of the subject.
Thus, we can say that complete objectivity is not possible in social logical research. What we can do we can follow Weber’s approach: complete objectivity is impossible but sociologists should try to be as objective as possible.