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positivism

 - 3 dictionary results

pos⋅i⋅tiv⋅ism

  [poz-i-tuh-viz-uhm]
Use positivism in a Sentence
–noun
1. the state or quality of being positive; definiteness; assurance.
2. a philosophical system founded by Auguste Comte, concerned with positive facts and phenomena, and excluding speculation upon ultimate causes or origins.
Origin:
1850–55; positive + -ism

Related forms:
pos⋅i⋅tiv⋅ist, adjective, noun
pos⋅i⋅tiv⋅is⋅tic, adjective
pos⋅i⋅tiv⋅is⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To positivism
pos·i·tiv·ism   (pŏz'ĭ-tĭ-vĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. Philosophy

    1. A doctrine contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought.

    2. The application of this doctrine in logic, epistemology, and ethics.

    3. The system of Auguste Comte designed to supersede theology and metaphysics and depending on a hierarchy of the sciences, beginning with mathematics and culminating in sociology.

    4. Any of several doctrines or viewpoints, often similar to Comte's, that stress attention to actual practice over consideration of what is ideal: "Positivism became the 'scientific' base for authoritarian politics, especially in Mexico and Brazil" (Raymond Carr).

  2. The state or quality of being positive.

pos'i·tiv·ist, pos'i·tiv·is'tic adj., pos'i·tiv·ist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

positivism

An approach to philosophy frequently found in the twentieth century. Positivists usually hold that all meaningful statements must be either logical inferences or sense descriptions, and they usually argue that the statements found in metaphysics, such as “Human beings are free” or “Human beings are not free,” are meaningless because they cannot possibly be verified by the senses.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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