Positivism is a philosophical approach that believes in the value of evidence and experimentation, and that there is no other source of legitimate knowledge except through experimental means. Empirical thinking is the belief that we can only gain true knowledge about the world through direct experience. It is often contrasted with rationalism, which holds that all knowledge comes from reason, and metaphysics, which holds that our knowledge is fundamentally derived from abstract ideas that exist independently of reality.
Auguste Comte was an early proponent of the positivist school of thought. He believed in using empirical evidence to form theories about the universe, and then testing those theories through experimentation. His approach widened the gap between science and philosophy. Comte believed that only metaphysics could provide any substantial contribution to our understanding of reality because there were limits to what we can observe about the world. Empirical observation leads us to discover laws and patterns that govern observable phenomena. Lest, Comte’s work is also considered a new branch of philosophy of science that examines the foundations, methods, and wider implications of science.
