New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
Positivism — is the philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience. Such knowledge can only come from affirmation of theories through strict scientific method. Metaphysical speculation is avoided. Though the … Wikipedia
Positivism — • A system of philosophical and religious doctrines elaborated by Auguste Comte. Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Positivism Positivism … Catholic encyclopedia
positivism — n. The belief that laws exist to run society and are valid because they are enacted by humans, and ideals or worries about justice should not limit their application. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc … Law dictionary
Positivism — Pos i*tiv*ism, n. A system of philosophy originated by M. Auguste Comte, which deals only with positives. It excludes from philosophy everything but the natural phenomena or properties of knowable things, together with their invariable relations… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
positivism — 1847, the philosophy of Auguste Comte, who published Philosophie positive in 1830; see POSITIVE (Cf. positive) + ISM (Cf. ism). Related: Positivist … Etymology dictionary
positivism — ► NOUN Philosophy ▪ a system recognizing only that which can be scientifically verified or logically proved, and therefore rejecting metaphysics and theism. DERIVATIVES positivist noun & adjective positivistic adjective … English terms dictionary
positivism — [päz′ə tiv iz΄əm] n. [Fr positivisme < positif] 1. the quality or state of being positive; certainty; assurance 2. overconfidence or dogmatism 3. a system of philosophy basing knowledge solely on data of sense experience; esp., a system of… … English World dictionary
positivism — positivist, adj., n. positivistic, adj. positivistically, adv. /poz i teuh viz euhm/, n. 1. the state or quality of being positive; definiteness; assurance. 2. a philosophical system founded by Auguste Comte, concerned with positive facts and… … Universalium
positivism — The acknowledged founder of positivism or ‘the positive philosophy’ was the French philosopher and social scientist Auguste Comte (1798 1857). Comte is also accredited with the invention of the term ‘sociology’ to describe his proposed science of … Dictionary of sociology
positivism — The philosophy of Comte, holding that the highest or only form of knowledge is the description of sensory phenomena. Comte held that there were three stages of human belief: the theological, the metaphysical, and finally the positive, so called… … Philosophy dictionary
positivism — a philosophy (of science), that originated in the Vienna Circle in the 1920s, which holds that philosophy should aspire to the same sort of rigor as science. Philosophy should provide strict criteria for judging sentences true, false and… … Mini philosophy glossary
