Positivism is the doctrine, formulated by Auguste Comte, that genuine knowledge comes only from observable facts examined through the methods of science, and that society itself operates according to discoverable scientific laws that can be studied the same way the natural world is studied. Comte treated sociology, built on this method, as the last and most complex science to mature, the discipline that would complete the hierarchy of the sciences.
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Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountGenuine knowledge is empirical, derived from observation and reasoned method rather than metaphysical speculation, and society can and should be studied by that same scientific method. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Cross-Tradition Connections
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