positivist
1
9.3
- noun
- /ˈpɒzɪtɪvɪst/
- Formal
:
positivista
- A positivist believes that knowledge should be based on observable evidence rather than speculation.
- logical positivists
- post-positivist
- legal positivists
To use that phrase that caught the attention and ire of of the logical positivists.
- To use that phrase that caught the attention and ire of of the logical positivists.
- So he says modern positivists like Compt, that's August Compt, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer and others.
- And then philosophy handles the leftovers like AJ Air and other logical positivists of that time.
Examples
-
But this social fact, as I noted, is something a positivist lawyer leaves to others to dispute.
Academic text (2006) -
But, as already noted, legal positivists have disagreed about which descriptive social facts determine law's content and existence.
Academic text (2017) -
The second problem, however, is easier for a positivist to tackle.
Academic text (2006) -
The touchstone of that approach was to be science, understood in positivist terms.
Academic text (1995) -
Actually, the great positivist Auguste Comte tried to create something like that as well.
-
Indeed, my own research (and teaching) continues in the tradition of positivist, methods-conscious political science.
Academic text (1995) -
Only a few officers were dedicated positivists devoted to republican ideals.
Academic text (1997) -
I would say there is evidence confusing enough to befuddle even the most dedicated and humorless positivists.
Academic text (1993) -
Baum identifies four distinct approaches: positivist, functionalist, conflictualist, and symbolic interactionist.
Academic text (2005) -
As a positivist, she focuses on data and facts rather than philosophical arguments.
Synonyms
3
7.0
A person who trusts reason and observable facts, not supernatural explanations
1
9.8
A person who believes only ideas you can test by experience or logic have meaning
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
1
9.8
A person who believes only ideas you can test by experience or logic have meaning
Surface Forms
Morphology
positivist = positivism (semi-transparent) = positiv + ist
The noun denotes an adherent or proponent of 'positivism', formed via the standard '-ist' relational/adherent suffix on the positiv- stem.
Etymology
Positivist comes from positivism, the idea that only 'observable' or 'factual' knowledge counts. A positivist is a person who accepts explanations you can test or see, so they prefer evidence over speculation.