positivism
noun
pos·i·tiv·ism ˈpä-zə-ti-ˌvi-zəm 
ˈpäz-ti-
1
a
: a theory that theology and metaphysics are earlier imperfect modes of knowledge and that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences
b
: logical positivism
2
: the quality or state of being positive
positivist
ˈpä-zə-ti-vist
adjective or noun ˈpäz-ti-
positivistic
ˌpä-zə-ti-ˈvi-stik
adjective ˌpäz-ti-
positivistically
ˌpä-zə-ti-ˈvi-sti-k(ə-)lē
adverb ˌpäz-ti-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web This perspective better recalls late-19th-century positivism or the more dogmatic materialists of the Enlightenment. 
Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2022 Another episode involves Herbert Croly, a co-founder of the New Republic magazine, who grew up in a home devoted to the religion of humanity preached by Auguste Comte, the French philosopher best known for his advocacy of positivism. D.g. Hart, WSJ, 21 Jan. 2022 Auguste Comte, the French founder of positivism, was among the first to work out his own set of religious rites for rationalists. Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2021 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 The rising social media company was at the vanguard of America’s embrace of tech positivism. Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2021 Legal positivism depicts law as a set of rules determined by factual description of existing laws and institutions, without reference to normative moral arguments about what the law should be. Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 See More
Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2022 Another episode involves Herbert Croly, a co-founder of the New Republic magazine, who grew up in a home devoted to the religion of humanity preached by Auguste Comte, the French philosopher best known for his advocacy of positivism. D.g. Hart, WSJ, 21 Jan. 2022 Auguste Comte, the French founder of positivism, was among the first to work out his own set of religious rites for rationalists. Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2021 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 The rising social media company was at the vanguard of America’s embrace of tech positivism. Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2021 Legal positivism depicts law as a set of rules determined by factual description of existing laws and institutions, without reference to normative moral arguments about what the law should be. Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 Scalia’s legal approach adheres closely to the theory of legal positivism, which in its modern form goes back to the English philosopher John Austin (1790–1859). Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
French positivisme, from positif positive + -isme -ism
First Known Use
1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1a