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
2
: the quality or state of being positive
: being a positivist : exhibiting, relating to, or characteristic of any form of positivism
the spiritual barrenness of a positivist conception of reality—
Times Literary Supplement
Times Literary SupplementExamples of positivism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
James Wood, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Alas, Jay shows, the self-experimental era ended with the ascendancy of 19th-century French philosopher Auguste Comte’s doctrine of positivism.
—Federico Perelmuter, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023
Nominalism and positivism have deluged the world with vast quantities of little-read scholarship whose underlying rationale is often the confutation of the very possibility of the larger-scale intelligibility of the world.
—M. D. Aeschliman, National Review, 20 Feb. 2022
With a strong focus on positivism, purpose, resourcefulness and compassion, each retreat at the 14 participating Rosewood properties will incorporate practices reflective of local wellness traditions and natural surroundings, for guests to heal and re-balance overall well-being.
—Roger Sands, Forbes, 15 June 2021
But when the layers of complexity settle on one which is congenial with their normative framework the labors of the wizards are done, and the mists which obscure the possibility of positivism clear away!
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019
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Noun
This kind of biographical positivism—Eng stays close to the historical facts—has the effect of forestalling the most fertile element of the novel, its manner of layering the narratives.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
Alas, Jay shows, the self-experimental era ended with the ascendancy of 19th-century French philosopher Auguste Comte’s doctrine of positivism.
—Federico Perelmuter, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023
Nominalism and positivism have deluged the world with vast quantities of little-read scholarship whose underlying rationale is often the confutation of the very possibility of the larger-scale intelligibility of the world.
—M. D. Aeschliman, National Review, 20 Feb. 2022
With a strong focus on positivism, purpose, resourcefulness and compassion, each retreat at the 14 participating Rosewood properties will incorporate practices reflective of local wellness traditions and natural surroundings, for guests to heal and re-balance overall well-being.
—Roger Sands, Forbes, 15 June 2021
But when the layers of complexity settle on one which is congenial with their normative framework the labors of the wizards are done, and the mists which obscure the possibility of positivism clear away!
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Positivism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/positivism. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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