Positivists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Advocates of a philosophical stance that prioritizes empirical research and logical analysis in understanding the world
2. Supporters of a viewpoint asserting that valid knowledge is exclusively informed by sensory experiences and scientific inquiry
3. Individuals who uphold the belief that true knowledge stems from observable, scientific evidence and empirical data

Etymology: Break the word down and you find "positive" plus the suffix "-ist", the same ending found in "scientist" or "pianist", which marks a follower of a doctrine or practice. The label was formed after "positivism", the name of the philosophy, so the followers were named after the creed. The "positive" here does not mean optimistic. It refers to what is actually given by observation and experiment, set against speculation about hidden causes. The word may have been borrowed from French "positiviste", though it is also plausibly an English formation from "positive" and "-ist" once the philosophy had its name.

Synonyms: empiricists, scientists, rationalists