Immediately explicable? The positivist fallacy, its history and legacy

Description

Paper given as part of the panel 'Life in Objects, Life in Texts'.

Abstract
In his 1987 Sather Lectures, the Greek archaeologist Anthony Snodgrass described his concept of the so-called ‘positivist fallacy’. This phrase first appeared in Snodgrass’ contribution to the general essay collection Sources for Ancient History (1983), in which he sought to advocate for the use of archaeological material in historians’ understanding of the past.[1] This is a simple and clear idea, simple in its meaning, its advantages, and flaws, and therefore it seemed to me an appropriate starting point for a panel considering the interaction between textual and archaeological material. In understanding the theoretical dimension of this interaction, we must seek to move beyond the benign notion that it is good to use either in combination, or that different categories of evidence tell us different things. Both of these statements are obvious, and need (I hope) no further justification, especially in present company. In this paper, I will discuss the positivist fallacy and its theoretical implications, its history, and how it continues to feature in even the most complex reconstructions of the past.

Period	16 Dec 2021
Event title	Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference
Event type	Conference
Location	Leicester, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National