| 释义 |
positivism|ˈpɒzɪtɪvɪz(ə)m|
[ad. F. positivisme (Comte), f. positif, -ive, positive: see -ism; la philosophie positive being Comte's name for his system.
La philosophie positive occurs first in St. Simon Introd. aux Trav. Scientif., Œuvres I. 198. Comte's Philosophie positive vol. I was published in 1830.]
1. A system of philosophy elaborated by Auguste Comte from 1830 onwards, which recognizes only positive facts and observable phenomena, with the objective relations of these and the laws that determine them, abandoning all inquiry into causes or ultimate origins, as belonging to the theological and metaphysical stages of thought, held to be now superseded; also a religious system founded upon this philosophy, in which the object of worship is Humanity considered as a single corporate being. Also, the name given generally nowadays to the view, held by Bacon and Hume amongst others (including Comte), that every rationally justifiable assertion can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof; that philosophy can do no more than attest to the logical and exact use of language through which such observation or verification can be expressed. Also ellipt. for logical positivism (see logical a. (and n.) 7).
1847J. D. Morell Hist. View Philos. (ed. 2) I. i. i. 88 Let those who claim Bacon as the apostle of positivism, give us an interpretation of this whole division of his system. 1854G. Brimley Ess., Comte's Positive Philos. 330 We are obliged to conclude, then, that positivism in M. Comte's hands, while pretending to take upon itself the regulation of human conduct, fails to furnish a guiding principle for either individuals or societies. 1865(title) A General view of Positivism. Translated from the French of Auguste Comte, by J. H. Bridges. 1866J. Martineau Ess. I. 21 Such deification of mortals..is the avowed religion of positivism. a1866J. Grote Exam. Utilitarian Philos. (1870) 2 A way of thinking about morals, which may be roughly called by the name Positivism; by which I mean the line of thought which endeavours to construct a system of morals..from observation and experience of fact alone. [1868Huxley Phys. Basis Life (8 Nov.) Lay Serm. (1883) 140 In fact M. Comte's philosophy in practice might be compendiously described as Catholicism minus Christianity. [Often referred to as ‘Huxley's well-known description’ or ‘definition of Positivism’]. ]1875Bridges tr. Comte's Syst. Positive Polity I. 264 In the conception of Humanity the three essential aspects of Positivism, its subjective principle, its objective dogma, and its practical object, are united. 1892Monist II. 261 Positivism i.e. the representation of facts without any admixture of theory or mythology, is an ideal which in its purity perhaps will never be realised. 1934W. M. Malisoff tr. R. Carnap in Jrnl. Philos. of Sci. I. 16 In the following example we deal with the conflict of two theses..which correspond more or less to positivism and to realism. 1945K. R. Popper Open Society I. v. 59 Ethical positivism..maintains that..what is, is good. (Might is right.) 1961M. C̆apek Philos. Impact Contemp. Physics xvi. 297 The positivism prevailing amongst contemporary physicists, who insist on a consistent elimination of all unobservable factors. 1964Fodor & Katz in R. Klibansky Contemp. Philos. (1969) III. 303 We shall therefore examine the two dominant schools of thought in recent philosophy of language, ordinary-language philosophy and positivism. 1967Encycl. Philos. VI. 415 Both share the general idea of progress, but whereas social positivism deduces progress from a consideration of society and history, evolutionary positivism deduces it from the fields of physics and biology. 1974H. Wang From Math. to Philos. p. ix, The much publicized juxtaposition of logic with positivism (or empiricism or ‘analytic’ philosophy) has burdened logic with a guilt by association.
2. a. Definiteness, peremptoriness. b. Certainty, assurance: = positiveness 2.
1854Geo. Eliot Feuerbach's Essence Chr. (1881) 32 Israel is the most complete presentation of Positivism in religion. 1870Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. (1873) 150 The metaphysicians can never rest till they have taken their watch to pieces and have arrived at a happy positivism as to its structure, though at the risk of bringing it to a no-go. 1874P. Smyth Our Inher. v. xxi. 415 The Doctor..adopts that with positivism. 1894E. H. Barker Two Summers in Guyenne 404 The decision and positivism of the Roman character.
3. Law. A term derived from positive law (cf. positive a. 1) and applied to theories concerned with the enactment of law, the reaching of legal decisions, the binding nature of legal rules and the study of existing law; which postulate that legal rules are valid because they are enacted by the ‘sovereign’ or derive logically from existing decisions, and deny that ideal or moral considerations (such as those of natural law, or that a rule is unjust) should in any way limit the operation or scope of the law.
1927M. R. Cohen in Proc. 6th Internat. Congr. Philos., 1926 469 (title) Positivism and the limits of idealism in the law. 1944W. Friedmann Legal Theory xv. 135 Positivism in jurisprudence comprises legal movements, poles apart in every respect. 1945H. Kelsen Gen. Theory Law i. iii. 52 No sanction without a legal norm providing this sanction, no delict without a legal norm determining that delict. These principles are the expression of legal positivism in the field of criminal law. 1959Jowitt Dict. Eng. Law II. 1366/2 Positivism, in international law, this means the method which attempts to present law as actually applied in State practice. 1961H. L. A. Hart Concept of Law i. 7 Some contemporary legal theory which is critical of the legal ‘positivism’ inherited from Austin. 1967Encycl. Philos. IV. 419/1 The definition of law as the command of the ‘sovereign’ is no doubt the most prominent example of a form of positivism. Ibid., Sometimes ‘legal positivism’ is used to refer to the view that correct legal decisions are uniquely determined by pre-existing legal rules. 1969M. Moritz in R. Klibansky Contemp. Philos. IV. 140 The author intends to give an empirical account of what is a legal order. He regards the distinction between natural law theory and legal positivism as being of secondary importance. 1971Mod. Law Rev. XXXIV. vi. 632 Positivism regards law as a system of comprehensive and closely defined rules. |