Definition of "positivism" [pos•i•tiv•ism]

• Philosophy A doctrine contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought. (noun)
• Philosophy The application of this doctrine in logic, epistemology, and ethics. (noun)
• Philosophy The system of Auguste Comte designed to supersede theology and metaphysics and depending on a hierarchy of the sciences, beginning with mathematics and culminating in sociology. (noun)
• Philosophy Any of several doctrines or viewpoints, often similar to Comte's, that stress attention to actual practice over consideration of what is ideal: "Positivism became the 'scientific' base for authoritarian politics, especially in Mexico and Brazil” ( Raymond Carr). (noun)
• The state or quality of being positive. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But this positivism is a dead-end: The same impulse of stripping away conceit characterized modern architecture."
• "In other words, false positivism is easy, but it is a lie."
• "a small set of men, some of whom are possessed of great ability and have accomplished much, but as a religion in any adequate sense of the word positivism will be admitted a failure by its most sincere adherents."