Positivism holds that knowledge comes from scientific observation. It rejects metaphysics as meaningless and insists that claims must be empirically verifiable. Auguste Comte founded the movement in the 19th century, arguing that human thought passes through three stages: theological, metaphysical, and positive. In the positive stage, we give up asking why and focus on how. We describe regularities, not essences. Logical positivism, a 20th-century movement associated with the Vienna Circle, tried to formalize this program. It held that meaningful statements are either analytic, like mathematics, or empirically verifiable, like science. Everything else is nonsense.

Logical positivism collapsed under its own weight. The verification principle itself is not empirically verifiable. But positivism left a lasting mark on philosophy, science, and social science. It encouraged rigorous empirical research and skepticism toward speculation. It influenced behaviorism in psychology, structuralism in anthropology, and quantitative methods in sociology. Critics argue that positivism is too narrow, that it ignores meaning, interpretation, and values. Defenders reply that it keeps inquiry honest. The debate between positivism and its critics continues in the philosophy of social science.

Positivist themes

• Empirical verification. Claims must be testable by observation.
• Rejection of metaphysics. Unverifiable claims are meaningless.
• Unity of science. All sciences share a common method.
• Value neutrality. Science should be free of normative judgments.

Positivism is not the same as empiricism, though the two overlap. Empiricism is a theory of knowledge. Positivism is a program for science.