less than 1 minute read

Positivism



Positivism, philosophical theory of knowledge associated with the 19th-century French philosopher Auguste Comte. It holds that the observable, or “positive,” data of sense experience constitute the sole basis for assertions about matters of fact; only the truths of logic and mathematics are additionally admitted. The speculative claims of theology and metaphysics, regarded as the primitive antecedents of “positive” thought, are discounted.



See also: Comte, Auguste.

Additional topics

21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Pope to Proverbs, Book of