We tell you who Auguste Comte was and what his contributions to philosophy were. Also, its relationship with positivism and science.
Who was Auguste Comte?
Auguste Comte (1798-1857) was a 19th-century French philosopher and thinker, known for being the founder of positivism. and for having begun studies in sociology.
Comte's ideas had a great impact on the thought of the 19th century and even the 20th century. Creator of positivism as a philosophical current, He is considered the first philosopher of science. His work influenced thinkers such as John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), among others.
Comte coined the term “sociology”, a discipline of which he is considered the founding father, along with Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825) and other classical thinkers.. His concept of social evolutionism marked the way forward for generations after his time. Among his best-known works are Positive philosophy course, Positive Spirit Speech and positivist catechism.
Positivism is a philosophical movement from the 19th and 20th centuries that defends the scientific method as the only way to obtain valid knowledge.
Life of Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte was born on January 19, 1798 in Montpellier, France.. Coming from a Catholic and monarchist family, he declared himself a freethinker and republican at an early age. Comte entered the École Polytechnique in Paris in 1814, where he demonstrated his talent and began reading works by various authors who fed his idea of a social reform based on science and technology.
In 1817, Comte met Henri de Saint-Simon, a socialist leader and disciple of Jean le Rond D'Alembert (1717-1783). He worked as its secretary until 1824, collaborating on the idea of reorganizing society through science and technology. During this period, he wrote a scientific plan for social reorganization commissioned by Saint-Simon. In 1824, Comte became independent and began giving lessons to a group of disciples in his house, among whom were prominent figures such as Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Louis Poinsot (1777-1859) and Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (1777-1850).
In 1825, Comte married Caroline Massin and, the following year, he suffered an episode of madness that led him to remain in an asylum for approximately a year. Despite relapses and financial difficulties, he served as an assistant professor at the École Polytechnique, although without managing to obtain a professorship or official recognition. He maintained his livelihood thanks to the support of the philosopher John Stuart Mill and his English disciples, who gave him an allowance.
In 1840, Comte experienced an acute crisis that led to his final separation from his wife in 1842. From then on, he entered a phase of mental delirium and considered himself the messiah of a social mission. During this stage, he met Clotilde de Vaux, who died a year later. This meeting marked a new focus in his thinking and gave rise to his project for a new religion, the religion of Humanity, which he attempted to organize as a church..
During the revolution of 1848, on the other hand, Comte initially aligned himself with the revolutionaries, but soon became disillusioned and joined Napoleon III, who had established the Second Empire through a coup d'état in 1852.
The last stage of Comte's thought is exposed in works such as the “Discourse on the Ensemble of Positivism” (1848) and the “System of Positive Politics or Treatise of Sociology Instituting the Religion of Humanity” (1851-1854).. However, he failed to complete several of the works he had announced, such as a treatise on universal education and a treatise on first philosophy.
Augusto Comte died on September 5, 1857, leaving behind an extensive correspondence that was published posthumously. His legacy as the founder of positivism and his influence on philosophy and sociology continue to be the subject of study and debate today.
Comte's Thought
Comte's thought can be classified according to his interests. Having founded positivism and having been one of the first thinkers to dedicate himself to sociology, there are many ways to approach his work.
In general, There are three great cores of Comtian thought: the law of the three stages, the positivist conception of science and the sociological conception of positivism as a religion of Humanity.
The law of the three stages
The law of the three stages is the core of Auguste Comte's philosophy. According to Comte, This law describes the evolution of human thought and applies to both scientific progress and social and cultural progress.. The three stages are: the theological stage, the metaphysical stage and the positive stage.
- At the theological stage, Man attributes natural phenomena to the will of superhuman beings and resorts to religion and magic to explain and control them.
- At the metaphysical stage, the divinities are replaced by abstract forces inherent in the things themselves, but a true explanation of the phenomena is still not achieved due to logical abstractions.
- In the positive stage, Man renounces searching for ultimate causes and focuses on observing and formulating the laws that govern natural phenomena through science. At this stage, metaphysics is replaced by modern science.
Comte maintains that these three stages are mutually exclusive and that humanity progresses as it moves towards the positive stage. Furthermore, it applies this law to the evolution of sciences, civilizations and cultures, and considers that industrial and scientific society is the final stage of development of humanity.
Comte bases this law by arguing that it is inscribed in the nature of the human spirit and that it can be observed both in the history of science and in the personal experience of each individual. It also suggests that theology has served as a starting point for human development by providing an initial program of understanding and praxis, which is subsequently replaced by science.
In summary, Comte's law of three stages describes the evolution of human thought from the theological stage to the positive stage, where science replaces religion and metaphysics. This law is considered fundamental in Comte's positivism and applies to scientific, cultural and social progress.
The positivist conception of science
The scientific method according to Comte is characterized by dispensing with the search for real causes and is limited to establishing relationships between observable phenomena. Comte's positivism is based on positive-scientific knowledge, where scientific laws are considered as invariable relationships between phenomena. It is not allowed to go beyond the data positively given in experience and it is not required to resort to transcendent entities or principles.
Comte proposes a classification of knowledge that responds to the positive stage, excluding theological and metaphysical knowledge. According to him, Scientific disciplines are differentiated by the complexity and extension of their objects of study. Mathematics is the simplest science, followed by Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and finally Sociology.which is in the metaphysical stage and seeks to establish the laws that govern social phenomena.
Comte considers that Sociology has a fundamental role, since it represents the ultimate term of intellectual progress and aims to develop new principles of morality and law. Philosophy, on the other hand, is not, according to Comte, knowledge with its own field of study, but rather it deals with the relationships between the different sciences and the discovery of principles common to all.
In summary, for Comte the scientific method is based on the search for relationships between observable phenomena, regardless of real causes. The sciences are differentiated by the complexity and extension of their objects of study, and Sociology occupies a prominent place in the Comtian philosophical system. Philosophy, for its part, is responsible for studying the relationships between the sciences and discovering common principles.
The sociological conception of positivism
Comte believed that the development of Sociology in accordance with positivism would lead to social order.
Sociology consists of two parts: Statics and Dynamics. Social Statics, on the one hand, studies the conditions common to all societies, such as sociability, the family and the division of labor. Comte especially valued the family institution and opposed equality and democratic and socialist doctrines.
Social Dynamics, on the other hand, focuses on the study of the laws of development of society, and its fundamental law is that of the three stages. According to this law, humanity progresses through stages of perfection, just as an individual goes through different states in his life. Comte considered that social progress was necessary and indefinite, and each social state was the result of the previous one and the driving force of the next.
Comte believed that the moral and public crisis of society was due to the coexistence of opposing philosophies and advocated the unification of thought through Sociology as a positive science. His political thesis maintained that social unity could be achieved through the exercise of Sociology, which proposed a system of unity in doctrine.
Regarding religion, Comte rejected theological and metaphysical conceptions, and proposed a positivist religion based on the cult of the “Great Being”, which represents humanity as a whole. This religion emphasized love, order and progress as fundamental principles. Comte designed cult ceremonies, a positivist calendar, social sacraments, and a positivist priesthood.
For Comte, spiritual unity among men depended on the positive method, and he considered that the happiness of society would be achieved through the development of reason illuminated by science and the institution of a positive science that studied social facts. The positivist religion had an important social role in the organization of society and was based on the veneration of humanity.
In summary, Comte postulated that Sociology, based on positivism, would lead to social order. Social Statics studied the conditions common to all societies, while Social Dynamics analyzed the laws of social development. Comte sought the unification of thought through Sociology and promoted a positivist religion centered on the cult of humanity.
Comte's work
Comte's main works were:
- Positive philosophy course (1830)
- Speech on the positive spirit (1844)
- Positive policy system (1851)
Comte's best-known work is his treatise Positive Philosophy Course. This work is considered fundamental in the development of positivist philosophy and establishes its focus on the application of the scientific method to the social sciences and the search for general laws that govern human society.
Reception of Comte's work
The work of Auguste Comte, founder of positivism and one of the most important philosophers of the 19th century, influenced various thinkers of his time and subsequent generations.
His positivist approach and emphasis on empirical observation and the scientific method had a significant impact on the development of sociology, philosophy, and other disciplines during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Some of the most prominent thinkers who were directly influenced by Comte's work are:
- Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). He was a French sociologist considered one of the founding fathers of modern sociology. Comte had a great influence on his thinking, especially his positivist approach and the importance he gave to empirical observation in the study of society.
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). He was a British philosopher and economist, influenced by Comte's positivism in his approach to the social sciences. He adopted the idea that scientific knowledge is based on observation and experience, and applied these principles in his work on logic and the scientific method.
- Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). He was a British sociologist and philosopher, and one of the first to popularize the term “survival of the fittest” and to apply Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to human society. He was influenced by Comte, but also developed his own ideas, creating a more evolutionary version of positivism.
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865). He was a French philosopher and politician known for being one of the first anarchist theorists. Although he had some criticisms of Comte, he was also influenced by his social philosophy. He adopted the idea of Comte's “law of three states”, which describes the evolution of human thought from the theological to the positive stage.
References
- Atencia, JM (1990). Positivism, metaphysics and philosophy of science in Augusto Comte, University of Málaga. Malaga.
- Comte, A. (1875). Principles of positive philosophy. imp. of the Lib. of Mercury.
- Gane, M. (2006). Auguste Comte. Taylor & Francis.
- Jean-Paul Frick, Auguste Comte, ou La République positive, Presses universitaires de Nancy, Nancy, 1990.
