Table Of ContentCONTROVERSY
IN
MARKETING
THEORY
CONTROVERSY
IN
MARKETING
THEORY
FOR REASON, REALISM,
TRUTH, AND OBJECTIVITY
SHELBY D. HUNT
First published 2003 by M.E. Sharpe
Published 2015 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hunt, Shelby D.
Controversy in marketing theory : for reason, realism, truth, and objectivity / by Shelby D. Hunt
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7656-0931-2 (cloth: alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7656-0932-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Marketing. 2. Philosophy and science. I. Title.
HF5415 .H868 2003
658.8’001—dc21
2002030894
ISBN 13: 9780765609328 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 9780765609311 (hbk)
This book
is dedicated to
my daughter, Michelle,
of whom I am
very proud.
CONTENTS
Preface
1 Introduction
1.1 The Basic Thesis
1.2 A Look Ahead
2 Natural Philosophy and the Rise of Science: From Plato to Hegel
2.1 Platonism
2.1.1 Pythagoras
2.1.2 Plato
2.1.3 Socrates on Relativism
2.1.4 Aristotle
2.1.5 Philosophy After Aristotle
2.2 The Rise of Modern Science
2.2.1 Opposition to the Rise of Science
2.2.2 Factors Contributing to the Rise of Science
2.3 The Empiricism-Rationalism Debate
2.3.1 Classical Empiricism
Sir Francis Bacon
John Locke
David Hume
John Stuart Mill
2.3.2 Classical Rationalism
René Descartes
Benedict de Spinoza
Gottfried Leibniz
2.3.3 The Quest for Certainty and the Grand Synthesis
2.4 The Ascendance of Idealism
2.4.1 Berkeley
2.4.2 Immanuel Kant
2.4.3 Hegel
2.4.4 The Triumph of German Idealism
2.5 Classical Positivism
2.5.1 Ernst Mach
2.5.2 Gottlob Frege
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
3 The Development of the Philosophy of Science Discipline: From Classical Realism
to Logical Empiricism
3.1 The Emergence of Realism
3.1.1 G.E. Moore
3.1.2 Bertrand Russell
3.1.3 Ludwig Wittgenstein
3.2 Einsteinian Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Logical Positivism
3.2.1 The Origins of the Logical Positivist Movement
3.2.2 The Logical Positivist Program
3.2.3 Implementing the Logical Positivists’ Program
3.3 The Development of Logical Empiricism
3.3.1 Explicating Scientific Laws
3.3.2 Explicating Scientific Explanation
3.3.3 Explicating Theory
3.3.4 Explicating Verification
3.4 Popper, Critical Rationalism, and Falsificationism
3.5 The Concept of Scientific Progress
3.5.1 New Theories
3.5.2 Falsification of Theories
3.5.3 Expansion of Theories
3.5.4 Reduction of Theories
3.6 Knowledge, Foundationalism, and Fallibilism
3.6.1 Knowledge, Belief, and Theories of Truth
3.6.2 Foundationalism, the K-K Thesis, the “Philosophers’ Fallacy,” and
Fallibilism
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
4 The Rise and Fall of Historical Relativism in Philosophy of Science
4.1 Relativism Versus Absolutism
4.1.1 Cultural/Moral Relativism
On Cultural/Moral Relativism: For Reason
4.1.2 Rationality Relativism and the “Strong Thesis”
On Rationality Relativism: For Reason
4.1.3 Reality Relativism
On Reality Relativism: For Reason
4.2 Historical Relativism
4.2.1 Kuhnian Relativism
On Paradigms and Weltanschauungen: For Reason
On Kuhnian Relativism: For Reason
4.2.2 Feyerabend’s Relativism
Incommensurability, Scientific Progress, and Reality Relativism
On Feyerabend’s Incommensurability: For Reason
Feyerabend’s-Conceptual Framework Relativism
Feyerabend’s Attack on Science
4.3 The Rise and Fall of Historical Relativism
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
5 Post-Relativistic Philosophy of Science
5.1 Imre Lakatos’s Historical Empiricism
5.1.1 Justificationism, Dogmatic Falsificationism, and Naïve Falsificationism
5.1.2 Acceptance, Pursuit, and Rationality in Science
5.1.3 The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
5.2 Laudan’s Historical Empiricism
5.2.1 The “Early Laudan” Theory of Science
On Progress and Its Problems: For Reason
5.2.2 Laudan’s Science and Values
On Science and Values: For Reason
5.3 Scientific Realism: An Introduction
5.3.1 Realism and the Success of Science
5.3.2 Scientific Realism and Logical Empiricism
5.3.3 Scientific Realism and Quantum Mechanics
5.3.4 Scientific Realism: Conclusion
5.4 Philosophy of Science and Marketing
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
6 On Science, Qualitative Methods, and Marketing Research
6.1 The Sciences Versus Nonsciences Controversy
6.1.1 Relativism and the Nature of Science
On Relativism and the Nature of Science: For Reason
6.1.2 Revisiting the Nature of Science Arguments
6.1.3 Is the Relativist Nature of Science Argument a Straw Man?
6.1.4 Weak-Form Relativism
6.2 The Positivism Versus Qualitative Methods Controversy
6.2.1 Misconceptions About Positivism
Quantitative Methods
Causality
Determinism and the Machine Metaphor
Reality and Reification
Functionalism
6.2.2 On Antipositivism: For Reason
Positivism Versus Contemporary Antipositivism
6.2.3 Paradigm Dominance in Marketing, Management, and Consumer Research
6.2.4 The Dominance of Positivism: A Postmodern View
6.2.5 Logical Empiricism as the Dominant Paradigm
Confusions About Logical Empiricism
Does Logical Empiricism Dominate?
6.2.6 Conclusion: For Reason
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
7 On Truth and Marketing Research
7.1 The Nature of Truth
7.2 Truth and Scientific Realism
7.2.1 Not an Entity
7.2.2 Not with Certainty
7.2.3 Not Equal to Pragmatic Success
7.3 Relativistic Truth
7.4 Truth Should Be Abandoned
7.4.1 The Falsity of Realism
On the Falsity of Realism: For Reason
7.4.2 Reticulational Philosophy and Truth
On Reticulational Philosophy: For Reason
7.4.3 Truth and “Utopianism”
On Utopianism: For Reason
7.5 The Philosophers’ Fallacy Revisited
7.6 TRUTH and truth
7.6.1 Postmodernism and Dogmatic Skepticism
7.6.2 On Marketing and Noncontradiction: For Reason
7.7 Truth, Reality Relativism, and Idealism
7.7.1 Relativistic Reality
7.7.2 On Relativistic Reality: For Reason
7.8 For Truth
7.8.1 Trust, Science, Realism, and Ethics
Trust and Ethics
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
8 On Objectivity and Marketing Research
8.1 The Nature of Objectivity
8.1.1 Objectivity and Objectivism
On Objectivism: For Reason
8.2 Logical Empiricism, Falsificationism, and Objectivity
8.2.1 Are the Social Sciences Inherently Subjective?
8.3 Historical Relativism and Objectivity
8.4 For Objectivity: The “Negative Case”
8.4.1 Linguistic Relativism
8.4.2 Paradigms Are Incommensurable
8.4.3 Facts Underdetermine Theories
8.4.4 The Psychology of Perception
8.4.5 Epistemically Significant Observations
8.5 For Objectivity: The Positive Case
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
9 On Scientific Realism and Marketing Research
9.1 For Realism
9.1.1 Fundamental Tenets of Scientific Realism
9.1.2 Implications of the Fundamental Tenets of Scientific Realism
Physics
Biology
Marketing and the Social Sciences
9.2 Critical Realism
9.2.1 The Critical Realism of Niiniluoto
9.2.2 The Critical Realism of Sayer
9.3 A Realist Theory of Empirical Testing
9.3.1 The Realist Model
9.3.2 Muller-Lyer Revisited
9.3.3 Threats to Objectivity
9.3.4 Implications for Marketing and Social Science
9.4 A Final Note: For a Commencement
Questions for Analysis and Discussion
References
Index
