Positivism did much in the twentieth century to weaken the status of political philosophy, and to underpin the emergence of cal science. Normative concepts and theories were discarded as deal with on the grounds that they were metaphysical' and did not that which is externally measurable Not only did this undermine the credentials of philosophical approach to political the analysis but it also encouraged philosophers to lose interest in moral and political issues. On the other hand, one of the chief legacies of positivism was the emergence of*behaviouralism and the attempt to develop a value-free science of *politics. However, the influence of positivism upon philosophy and political analysis sig- declined partly in the sedond half of the twentieth This occurred because positivism was associated with a simplistic faith in science's capacity to uncover truth that has come to be regarded as naceve, and partly because, in rejecting altogether the beliefs, atti- tudes and values of political actors, it drew politics towards dull and exclusively empirical analysis.