Should political science be value-free

Answer 1

There is a disagreement in the philosophy of science as to whether values should play a role in science and, if so, to what degree. Firstly, it should be said that political science is not value free, and to make it so would largely be impossible due to the difficulty of separating facts from values in many political systems that are heavily loaded and understood by such values. Secondly, values can be useful when applied to goals we desire from using political science, and so having no values may be detrimental to its utility. Finally, I believe that, as a science, political science should still attempt to isolate values where possible and not use them where they are not important given how contentious and difficult to measure they are.

Answer 2

Political science should strive to be objective and use evidence-based research methods. However, it is important to acknowledge that politics is inherently influenced by values and beliefs. Therefore, while political science can aim for objectivity, complete value-neutrality may not be achievable.