Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1978 A Study of the Influence of the Naturalistic Philosophies in the Development of Political Science in America James Michael Graham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Graham, James Michael, "A Study of the Influence of the Naturalistic Philosophies in the Development of Political Science in America" (1978). Master's Theses. 2091. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/2091 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE NATURALISTIC PHILOSOPHIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA by James Michael Graham A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1978 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this thesis I have benefited from the encourage­ ment and advice of Professors William A. Ritchie, Alan C. Isaak, and Lawrence Z iring. My ap p reciatio n goes to them as w ell as to the entire faculty of the Department of Political Science. I also wish to express my recognition of the value of the University as a whole for it has provided me with the training, resources, and environment whereby scholarship could be developed. James Michael Graham i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, M ichigan 48106 USA St. John’s Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I MASTERS THESIS 13-11,981 GRAHAM, Janies Michael A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE NATURALISTIC PHILOSOPHIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA. Western Michigan University, M.A., 1978 Political Science, general University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan48ioe Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... i i Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 I I . POLITICAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA: THE EARLY YEARS: 1790-1900 . 8 Pre-Civil War Political Inquiry ................................................... 8 German Influences in American Political Science .... 9 I I I . AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE IN THE PROGRESSIVE ERA . 12 The Establishment of a Professional Association .... 12 The Progressive Era and American Pragmatism: The R e a l i s t s ............................................................................................... 15 IV. THE NEW INFLUENCE OF NATURALISTIC PHILOSOPHIES ......................... 22 Positivism vs. Historicism.......................................................... 22 Early Designs for a Scientific Political Science: Behavioralism ................................................................................. 27 V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMPIRICAL DEMOCRATIC THEORY ......................... 33 Democracy as an Economic System: Joseph Shumpeter . 33 VI. POSTWAR POLITICAL SCIENCE ...................................................................... 37 The Desire for Causal Theories ........................................................ 37 The Argument for an E xclusively S c ie n tific P o litic a l S c i e n c e ............................................................................................... 40 The Effects of Scientific Aspirations on Key Profes­ sional Institutions .......................................................................... 42 V II. THE RISE OF BEHAVIORALISM WITHIN THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION: 1950-1970 ............................................................ 47 Behavioralism Becomes a Major Approach ...................................... 47 Harold Laswell ............................................................................................. 48 From Pragmatism to P o sitiv ism ................................................. 52 V III. POSITIVISTIC PRESIDENTS ........................................................................... 56 Robert D ah l .......................................................................................... 56 David Easton.......................................................................................... 58 IX. THOMAS KUHN: THE KUHNIAN APPRAISAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES............................................................................................... 67 The Kuhnian Paradigm ............................................................................... 67 Paradigms and a Scientific Political Science ........................ 73 i i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter David Truman................................................................................................. 76 G abriel Almond ............................................................................................. 80 X. CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................... 85 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 87 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION It has generally been deemed appropriate to examine the devel­ opment of the methods of political inquiry as practiced in America. Part of the reason for these examinations is that there remains no general agreement on the nature and significance of the varieties of approaches present in contemporary political science. The causes of this disparity appear to be fourfold. First, there has been a neglect in identifying what environmental, insti­ tutional, and intellectual factors were influential in the develop­ ment of various approaches to political study. The second puzzle, which is related to the first, is the inability to arrive at a com­ mon evaluation of past social thought and how it, combined with philosophical traditions, influenced the study of politics. A number of histories of the discipline have been made for a variety of reasons. See: Anna Haddow, Political Science in American Colleges and Universities 1636-1900 (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., 1939); Charles Merriam, New Aspects of Politics (Chicago: Uni­ versity of Chicago Press, 1925); Dwight Waldo, Political Science in the United States of America (Paris: UNESCO, 1956); Bernard Crick, The American Science of Politics, 2nd ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964); Francis J. Sorauf, Political Science: An Informal Overview (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill, 1965); Albert Somit and Joseph Tanenhaus, The Development of American Political Science: From Burgess to Behavioralism (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1967); Marian D. I ris h , e d ., P o litic a l Science: Advance of the D is­ cipline (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: