positivism

positivism
n.
The belief that laws exist to run society and are valid because they are enacted by humans, and ideals or worries about justice should not limit their application.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


positivism
as a theory of law, it may be summarised by saying that law may have any content. The law is what is laid down and that is an end to it. It is directly contrary to natural law theories, which tend to have some touchstone that a man-made law has to meet for its validity. Positivism faces serious problems in that it opens the way to the use of law as a means of social engineering. It is of value in giving up law's claims to protect higher values. The rule of law and constitutions are only as strong as the individuals working with them and the political realities of the society to which they apply.

Collins dictionary of law. . 2001.


positivism
n. The view that true knowledge comes from studying observable traits and actions rather than through reasoning or speculating.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.


positivism
A school of jurisprudence whose advocates believe that the only legitimate sources of law are those written rules, regulations, and principles that have been expressly enacted, adopted, or recognized by a government body, including administrative, executive, legislative, and judicial bodies.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


positivism
A school of jurisprudence whose advocates believe that the only legitimate sources of law are those written rules, regulations, and principles that have been expressly enacted, adopted, or recognized by a government body, including administrative, executive, legislative, and judicial bodies.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

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  • Positivism — Pos i*tiv*ism, n. A system of philosophy originated by M. Auguste Comte, which deals only with positives. It excludes from philosophy everything but the natural phenomena or properties of knowable things, together with their invariable relations… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • positivism — 1847, the philosophy of Auguste Comte, who published Philosophie positive in 1830; see POSITIVE (Cf. positive) + ISM (Cf. ism). Related: Positivist …   Etymology dictionary

  • positivism — ► NOUN Philosophy ▪ a system recognizing only that which can be scientifically verified or logically proved, and therefore rejecting metaphysics and theism. DERIVATIVES positivist noun & adjective positivistic adjective …   English terms dictionary

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