EMPIRICAL AND POSITIVIST

THEORY
 EMPIRICAL THEORY

• According to John Locke, there are two fountains of knowledge from where
all the ideas we have do spring: SENSATION & REFLECTION

• All our knowledge is founded; and from that it ultimately derives itself. Our
observation employed either, about external sensible objects, or about the
internal operations of our minds perceived and reflected on by ourselves, is
that which supplies our understandings with all the materials of thinking
 EMPIRICAL THEORY

• It seeks to discover and describe facts. It is concerned with a situation which

can be observed by our sense-experience, which can be verified by repeated
observation and whose accuracy can be tested.
• As its findings are based on objective, systematic observation and verified
through inspection of methods and results. It seeks to discover laws that are
unalterable.
 POSITIVISM THEORY

• Formulated by French Philosopher Auguste Comte which is a kind of

empiricism, called positivism or positive philosophy.
• A philosophical system deeply rooted in science and mathematics. It is based
on the view that whatever exists can be verified through experiments,
observations, and mathematical/logical proof.
 POSITIVISM THEORY

• Positivism divides all categories in to three categories: true, false, and

meaningless.
• Meaningless statement is one that isn’t clear enough to be tested through
positivistic means.
• If a statement does have meaning, then it must be either true or false. But that
doesn’t mean we necessarily know which one it is.
• Despite its name. positivism has nothing to do with “positive thinking” or
optimism – its just a coincidence that they have similar names.
 POSITIVISM THEORY

• Positivism is an attractive philosophy because it affirms the value of science and

maintains a strong distinction between “true” and “false” (a distinction which
many other philosophies muddy up!) However, there are also serious problems
with it, notably the fact that positivism fails to acknowledge the cultural,
political, and psychological factors that get in between the observer and the
truth.
 SOURCES:
Everett, G., Landow, G. (2014 September). Auguste
Comte, Positivism, and the Religion of humanity.
Retrieved from
www.victorianweb.org/philosophy/comte.html retrieved
last March 1 2019.
Fwigl, H. (2015). Positivism. Retrieved from
https://www.Britannica.com/topic/positivism retrieved
last March 1 2019.
• Medidhi, A. (October 2016). What is
empirical theory in political theory?
Retrieved from
https://www.quora.com/What-is-empirical-
theory-in-political-theory retrieved last
February 28 2019.
• Locke, J. (1690). An Essay Concerning
Human Understanding. Book II, Chapter 1: 1