Logical Positivism - What Is It?

Logical positivism is an intellectual system, founded by American Philosopher John Dewey, that holds that most knowledge, and especially scientific knowledge, are ultimately derived from observation. The word "positivism" derives from the Greek words for "following" and "science"
The term "logical positivism" was first used by the German philosopher Karl Popper to refer to what he considered to be the philosophy of science, which was then known as logical positivism. Logical positivism is closely related to the philosophy of rationalism, which is the belief that there exists a unique and final "truth" of reality. In contrast, logical positivism denies that there exists a single and unique truth or absolute reality. However, both theories are compatible with the idea that reality is subject to change over time, and that this change can be observed in many forms of scientific inquiry.

Most philosophers of science who reject the reality of objective reality to deny that it has any meaning or content independent of human beings. This is contrary to the belief of logical positivists, who believe that science and knowledge are primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive. For example, the definition of an atom, according to logical positivists, is something made up of positively charged particles that lack the electrostatic repulsion needed to make them interact.

According to the logic of the positivists, scientific knowledge can be derived from observation and from experience. Scientific inquiry therefore relies on scientific methods, but the results of such methods depend only on observations and on experiences that have been produced and shared by observers. Thus, in order to understand reality, it is not necessary to use methods that are based on scientific principles and concepts. Instead, the only way to determine the actual truth is to rely on experience and observation.

One of the main characteristics of philosophical systems like this is that they are often skeptical about the ability of scientific observation to reveal objective truth. In fact, positivists believe that scientific inquiry is always motivated by the need to justify beliefs that have been accepted by previous generations. They point out that in science, there are no real questions to be answered, because the answers are already provided through the method of observation.

Logical positivists, as their name implies, believe that science is driven by scientific inquiry. According to them, scientific methodologies or theories are not based on any fundamental truths or principles. Scientific methodologies only attempt to describe phenomena by means of general laws that have been found to hold good when applied to particular situations. Therefore, they believe that the only scientific truths are the laws and facts that hold true in reality. While they recognize that scientists cannot provide ultimate answers or knowledge, they assert that they are the only ones that can provide knowledge by observation.

Logical positivists have three main categories of knowledge, namely empirical, conceptual, linguistic, and evaluative. Empirical knowledge is defined as knowledge that is based on observation, while conceptual knowledge is based on concepts and arguments. Logical knowledge, on the other hand, is based on logical arguments and the logical evaluation of evidence, while the last category is based on the evaluation of evidence and ideas. Each of these three categories has a different set of principles and assumptions.


The most important part of logical positivism is the theory of scientific explanation, which states that all of the world's knowledge, including human knowledge, is rooted in some form of observation. The theory of scientific explanation maintains that every scientific theory is valid, and that scientific theories cannot be false. It also holds that scientific theories can be changed and improved upon so long as scientific observations prove that these changes and improvements do not violate established principles and concepts.