Positivism - Positivism - Criticisms and controversies: Logical positivism and logical empiricism were from their very beginnings subjected to searching criticisms. At first it was the verifiability criterion of meaningfulness that produced a storm of opposition.

One group of critics asked whether the criterion was meaningful in the light of its own standard. The “5½ problems” correspond to Gardner’s arguments and are as follows: (#1) Legal Positivism centers on determining whether a tax law is “legally valid” based on its source (e.g., the legislature enacted a valid law applying tax at the rate of 25%).