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Positivism

Positivism
Positivism is the philosophy of science that information derived from logical and mathematical treatments and reports of sensory experience is the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge,[1] and that there is valid knowledge (truth) only in this derived knowledge.[2] Verified data received from the senses are known as empirical evidence.[1] Positivism holds that society, like the physical world, operates according to general laws. Introspective and intuitive knowledge is rejected, as is metaphysics and theology. Although the positivist approach has been a recurrent theme in the history of western thought,[3] the modern sense of the approach was developed by the philosopher Auguste Comte in the early 19th century.[4] Comte argued that, much as the physical world operates according to gravity and other absolute laws, so does society.[5] Etymology[edit] Overview[edit] Antecedents[edit] Auguste Comte[edit] Antipositivism[edit] Main article: antipositivism In historiography[edit]

Skepticism Skepticism or scepticism (see American and British English spelling differences) is generally any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts,[1] or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere.[2] Philosophical skepticism is an overall approach that requires all information to be well supported by evidence.[3] Classical philosophical skepticism derives from the 'Skeptikoi', a school who "asserted nothing".[4] Adherents of Pyrrhonism, for instance, suspend judgment in investigations.[5] Skeptics may even doubt the reliability of their own senses.[6] Religious skepticism, on the other hand, is "doubt concerning basic religious principles (such as immortality, providence, and revelation)".[7] Definition[edit] In ordinary usage, skepticism (US) or scepticism (UK) (Greek: 'σκέπτομαι' skeptomai, to think, to look about, to consider; see also spelling differences) refers to: Philosophical skepticism[edit] Scientific skepticism[edit] Media[edit]

Kantianism Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term "Kantianism" or "Kantian" is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics. Ethics[edit] Simply put, this criterion amounts to a thought experiment: to attempt to universalize the maxim (by imagining a world where all people necessarily acted in this way in the relevant circumstances) and then see if the maxim and its associated action would still be conceivable in such a world. For instance, holding the maxim kill anyone who annoys you and applying it universally would result in a world which would soon be devoid of people and without anyone left to kill. Kant's ethics focus then only on the maxim that underlies actions and judges these to be good or bad solely on how they conform to reason. The Formulations of the Categorical Imperative: Teleology[edit] See Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology.

greenpeace Fallibilism Fallibilism (from medieval Latin fallibilis, "liable to err") is the philosophical principle that human beings could be wrong about their beliefs, expectations, or their understanding of the world, and yet still be justified in holding their incorrect beliefs. In the most commonly used sense of the term, this consists in being open to new evidence that would disprove some previously held position or belief, and in the recognition that "any claim justified today may need to be revised or withdrawn in light of new evidence, new arguments, and new experiences. In another sense, it refers to the consciousness of "the degree to which our interpretations, valuations, our practices, and traditions are temporally indexed" and subject to (possibly arbitrary) historical flux and change. Some fallibilists argue that absolute certainty about knowledge is impossible. Another proponent of fallibilism is Karl Popper, who builds his theory of knowledge, critical rationalism, on falsifiability.

Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology First published Sat Jul 2, 2005; substantive revision Wed Feb 13, 2013 Kant's views on aesthetics and teleology are given their fullest presentation in his Critique of Judgment (Kritik der Urteilskraft, also translated Critique of the Power of Judgment), published in 1790. This work is in two parts, preceded by a long introduction in which Kant explains and defends the work's importance in his critical system overall: in the first part, the “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment,” Kant discusses aesthetic experience and judgment, in particular of the beautiful and the sublime, and also artistic creation; in the second part, the “Critique of Teleological Judgment,” he discusses the role of teleology (that is, appeal to ends, purposes or goals) in natural science and in our understanding of nature more generally. The Critique of Judgment has received less attention than the other two Critiques. 1. 2. Other elements of Kant's theory are sketched in the remainder of the section.

Pablo Picasso Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso en janvier 1962. Œuvres réputées Compléments Pablo Ruiz Picasso, né à Malaga, Espagne, le 25 octobre 1881 et mort le 8 avril 1973 (à 91 ans) à Mougins, France, est un peintre, dessinateur et sculpteur espagnol[1] ayant passé l'essentiel de sa vie en France. Artiste utilisant tous les supports pour son travail, il est considéré comme le fondateur du cubisme avec Georges Braque et un compagnon d'art du surréalisme. Biographie Enfance et famille En 1891, le musée provincial de Malaga, dont José Ruiz Blasco était le conservateur, ferme ses portes, ce qui oblige le père à trouver d'autres moyens de subsistance. Le peintre débutant L'artiste ne signe plus ses toiles du nom de Ruiz Blasco mais de celui de Picasso à partir de 1901 À Barcelone en 1896, il est reçu à l'École de la Llotja, où enseigne son père, ayant exécuté en un jour le sujet de l'examen pour lequel on laisse généralement un mois aux candidats[13]. Période bleue

Pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870.[1] Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality[citation needed]. Instead, pragmatists consider thought to be a product of the interaction between organism and environment. Thus, the function of thought is as an instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. A few of the various but interrelated positions often characteristic of philosophers working from a pragmatist approach include: Charles Sanders Peirce (and his pragmatic maxim) deserves much of the credit for pragmatism,[2] along with later twentieth century contributors, William James and John Dewey.[3] Pragmatism enjoyed renewed attention after W. Origins[edit] Charles Peirce (/ˈpɜrs/ like "purse"): the American polymath who first identified pragmatism Pragmatism as a philosophical movement began in the United States in the 1870s. Summary[edit] In 1868,[15] C.S.

Arthur Schopenhauer Life[edit] Schopenhauer's birthplace house, ul. Św. Ducha (formerly Heiligegeistgasse) In 1814, Schopenhauer began his seminal work The World as Will and Representation (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung). While in Berlin, Schopenhauer was named as a defendant in a lawsuit initiated by a woman named Caroline Marquet.[18] She asked for damages, alleging that Schopenhauer had pushed her. In 1821, he fell in love with nineteen-year old opera singer, Caroline Richter (called Medon), and had a relationship with her for several years. Schopenhauer had a notably strained relationship with his mother Johanna Schopenhauer. Grave at Frankfurt Hauptfriedhof Schopenhauer had a robust constitution, but in 1860 his health began to deteriorate. Thought[edit] Philosophy of the "Will"[edit] Schopenhauer in 1815, second of the critical five years of the initial composition of Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung A key focus of Schopenhauer was his investigation of individual motivation. Mathematics[edit] [edit]

Cubism A primary influence that led to Cubism was the representation of three-dimensional form in the late works of Paul Cézanne, which were displayed in a retrospective at the 1907 Salon d'Automne.[3] In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context.[4] Conception and origins[edit] Pablo Picasso, 1909-10, Figure dans un Fauteuil (Seated Nude, Femme nue assise), oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm, Tate Modern, London Cubism began between 1907 and 1911. By 1911 Picasso was recognized as the inventor of Cubism, while Braque’s importance and precedence was argued later, with respect to his treatment of space, volume and mass in the L’Estaque landscapes. John Berger identifies the essence of Cubism with the mechanical diagram. Technical and stylistic aspects[edit] "M. Cubism before 1914[edit]

Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is influential in political philosophy. Bentham and Mill believed that a utilitarian government was achievable through democracy. Mill thought that despotism was also justifiable through utilitarianism as a transitional phase towards more democratic forms of governance. As an advocate of liberalism, Mill stressed the relationship between utilitarianism and individualism.[10] Historical background[edit] The importance of happiness as an end for humans has long been recognized. Although utilitarianism is usually thought to start with Jeremy Bentham, there were earlier writers who presented theories that were strikingly similar. Hume says that all determinations of morality, this circumstance of public utility principally important. In the first three editions of the book, Hutcheson included various mathematical algorithms "...to compute the Morality of any Actions." This pursuit of happiness is given a theological basis:[22] …actions are to be estimated by their tendency.

by raviii Oct 1

Positivism - The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary definition of positivism emphasises its origin in the philosophical view that 'every rationally justifiable assertion can be scientifically verified', but the term has come to be used by some qualitative researchers in order to speak or write derisively about or dismiss as flawed the scientific approach adopted by quantitative researchers.

Found in: Davies, M. (2007) Doing a Successful Research Project: Using Qualitative or Quantitative Methods. Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9781403993793. by raviii Jul 31

Positivism - The theoretical paradigm that seeks to obtain knowledge by discovery. It uses the epistemology of objectivism and data collection via empirical observation using the five senses.

Found in: Glossary of Key Terms: by raviii Jul 31

What is positivism?

Positivism is an approach to social research which seeks to apply the natural science model of research to investigations of the social world. It is based on the assumption that there are patterns and regularities, causes and consequences in the social world, just as there are in the natural world. These patterns and regularities in the social world are seen as having their own existence – they are real. For positivists, the aim of social research is to discover the patterns and regularities of the social world by using the kind of scientific methods used to such good effect in the natural sciences.


from:

Denscombe, M. (2003) The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects. 2nd Edition. Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom: Open University Press. ISBN: 9780335213030. by raviii Apr 14

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