operationalism
American Heritage Dictionary:
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op·er·a·tion·al·ism
(ŏp'ə-rā'shə-nə-lĭz'əm) 
n. Philosophy
The view that all theoretical terms in science must be defined only by their procedures or operations.
operationalist op'er·a'tion·al·ist n.
n. Philosophy
The view that all theoretical terms in science must be defined only by their procedures or operations.
operationalist op'er·a'tion·al·ist n.
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operationalism
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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operationalism
In the philosophy of science, the attempt to define all scientific concepts in terms of specifically described operations of measurement and observation. The length of a rod, for example, may be defined as the number of times a certain stick can be laid end to end alongside it. Propositions that are not amenable to verification through measurement and observation are rejected as meaningless ( logical positivism). Operationalists rejected the idea of nature as a thing-in-itself existing behind the appearances observed in experimentation. Operationalism is closely associated with the work of the U.S. physicist Percy W. Bridgman (18821961).
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Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy:
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operationalism
(or operationism) The reductive and positivist philosophy of science associated particularly with Bridgman. According to operationalism, propositions about theoretical entities such as particles are disguised propositions about the experiences resulting from definite scientific operations. Theoretical terms that are not so definable are to be avoided. Operationalism was supported by the overwhelming importance of Einstein's recognition that we can mean no more by such a notion as absolute simultaneity than we can measure by signals of finite velocity. However, the view is equivalent to the radical empiricism that holds that theoretical entities are logical constructions from experience. It is now widely supposed that this is untenable, and that it is necessary to maintain some logical gap between theory and evidence.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
