Consider all statements about reality, all physical laws, and all laws passed by governments as made by us in order to suit our needs and you will be rather skeptical of any “truth” to be “believed” in.
The movement Auguste Comte tried to create as a unity under the green banner could — under this premise — only diversify. Some Positivists label themselves as “Comtean”; others feel at home in the sciences or in modern theoretical debates where they will speak of themselves as “logical positivists”. “Sex-positivism” has spread within with the feminist movement in a rush towards a new appreciation of our bodies.
Positivists have welcomed their own pluralism. They construct views and felt free to create new sciences. “Sociology” is the most prominent of them. Already in the 19th century some pleaded for an acceptance of homosexuality as a sexual normality. Positivists supported the modern welfare state in its attempts to control capitalism. Utopian yearnings to create positive environments became part of the movement. In an age of nationalism, we pleaded both for more regional pluralism and new global institutions to solve global conflicts.
The following pages are designed to give a wider view of our present spectrum of movements.
- Comtean Positivism
- Scientific Positivism
- Logical Positivism
- Economic Positivism
- Legal Positivism
- Antipositivism
- Postmodern Positivism
- Body- and Sex-Positivism
- Positive Thinking
image source:
Simon Raper, “Graphing the History of Philosophy”, copelia.io, 2012-06-13.