Root of positivism and six principles
One of the major schools in the philosophy of social science is positivism. The root of positivism lies in the thoughts of Auguste Comte (Born January 19, 1798 – past 5 September 1857). August Comte believed that the scientific method was based on “observation”. He believes that this method is prevalent in the natural sciences and can be used in the humanities too.
The positivism is based on six principles.
Principle 1: The human mind is like a white plate.
Principle 2: Any knowledge can be assessed on the basis of experience.
Principle 3: What is not visible is outside the realm of science.
Principle 4: The scientific law is the expression of repetitive observations.
Principle 5: The explanation of a phenomenon is to show that this phenomenon is an instance of the law of science.
Principle 6: According to the law of science, one can predict.