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Introduction to Positive Philosophy
Introduction Selected Bibliography
Works by Comte in English Translation
Works about Comte in English I. The Nature and Importance of the Positive Philosophy II. The Classification of the Positive Sciences Index
Works by Comte in English Translation
Works about Comte in English I. The Nature and Importance of the Positive Philosophy II. The Classification of the Positive Sciences Index
86 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1842
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About the author
Auguste Comte
640 books171 followersFrench philosopher Isidore Auguste Comte, known as the founder of positivism, also established sociology as a systematic study.
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte bettered the discipline and the doctrine. People sometimes regard him first of science in the modern sense of the term.
The utopian socialist Henri Saint-Simon strongly influenced Comte, who developed an attempt to remedy the malaise of the revolution and called for a new doctrine, based on the sciences. Comte influenced major 19th-century thought and the work of Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, and George Eliot. His now outdated concept of evolutionism set the tone for early theorists and anthropologists, such as [authore:Harriet Martineau] and Herbert Spencer; Émile Durkheim presented modern academics as practical and objective research.
Theories of Comte culminated in the "Religion of Humanity," which influenced the development of secular organizations in the 19th century. Comte likewise coined the word altruism.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_...
http://freethoughtalmanac.com/?p=1016
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/comte/
http://www.biography.com/people/augus...
http://sociology.about.com/od/Profile...
http://www.egs.edu/library/auguste-co...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte bettered the discipline and the doctrine. People sometimes regard him first of science in the modern sense of the term.
The utopian socialist Henri Saint-Simon strongly influenced Comte, who developed an attempt to remedy the malaise of the revolution and called for a new doctrine, based on the sciences. Comte influenced major 19th-century thought and the work of Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, and George Eliot. His now outdated concept of evolutionism set the tone for early theorists and anthropologists, such as [authore:Harriet Martineau] and Herbert Spencer; Émile Durkheim presented modern academics as practical and objective research.
Theories of Comte culminated in the "Religion of Humanity," which influenced the development of secular organizations in the 19th century. Comte likewise coined the word altruism.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_...
http://freethoughtalmanac.com/?p=1016
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/comte/
http://www.biography.com/people/augus...
http://sociology.about.com/od/Profile...
http://www.egs.edu/library/auguste-co...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
June 19, 2011
This is a neat introduction to "positivism," which anyone trying to understand modern intellectual history will need to confront. This little pamphlet was originally part of a much longer series of lectures written and delivered by Comte, but it stands on its own as a basic introduction to his premises. The underlying theme is that human intellectual development passes through three stages: Theological, Metaphysical, and Positive. The theological stage is the point at which all phenomena are ascribed supernatural causes through the Will of God or gods. The metaphysical is a stage at which the gods become abstractions or concepts which are seen to act according to their natures. Finally, the positive stage is the scientific understanding that nothing supernatural exists, and that all phenomena have natural explanations which can be understood through observation and reason. It should be obvious that Comte's ideas have been profoundly influential, even though his critics have been many, and one might well argue that today his view of science conforms to that of most educated (and many uneducated) people. He goes on to argue that the crisis of his time (the early nineteenth century) was a result of the incomplete conversion to a positive viewpoint - the theological and metaphysical philosophies were still around causing problems. It seems clear enough to this observer that no "pure" state has ever existed, human beings at least since Ancient Greece have used a combination of the methods he describes to apprehend the Universe. Of course, it can also be argued that the elevation of "reason" to a position of (abstracted) Godhead is itself a kind of metaphyisical tautology. Nevertheless, it is worth reading the man's words for yourself to appreciate his perspective.
July 4, 2019
Una mezcla interesante de aberraciones filosóficas con imperialismo epistemológico. Sin embargo, está lejos de la ridiculización actual que se ensaya contra el positivismo. El fondo del proyecto enciclopédico de la filosofía positiva es voluntarista. En ese aspecto no difiere de la Auflklärung, hay ímpetu de dominio, de Beherrschung. A Comte le interesaba gerenciar. Organizaba los temas, los métodos, lo que era verdadero, lo que era falso, lo posible. Lo positivo sería algo así como un conocimiento cierto que es cierto porque se basa en evidencia indiscutible -sic-. A la vez, lo positivo sería una superación contundente de la teología y la metafísica, de ficciones y especulaciones. Todo esto es un desastre, hoy así lo creemos. Organizar todo por categorías es imposible y, antes que eso, dudosamente deseable. Lo certero hace siglos que dejó de existir. En realidad, creo que no existía ni en la época de Comte. Por ejemplo, la filosofía ya se había quebrado con la crítica y la matemática se había comenzado a cuestionar sus fundamentos y su dudosa relación con mundos no formales. Las bases de la probabilidad ya tenían dos siglos cuando Comte escribió este Curso. Sin embargo, hay matices. Comte no pensó la Filosofía Positiva de la forma en que actualmente se la ridiculiza. Hoy es un insulto el uso del calificativo “positivista”, sobre todo en ciencias sociales. En la página 51 de este Curso dice Comte que la división entre las ciencias que él establece y cualquier otra división posible es arbitraria y tiene como único fin la organización del conocimiento para intentar resolver problemas. En la página 82 retoma la idea y dice que las clasificaciones son siempre artificiales y que tal restricción debe ser reconocida. Aunque ese mismo espíritu regresó con la Escuela de Frankfurt, creo que no se corresponde con las ciencias sociales del siglo XXI. Las ciencias sociales son hoy mucho más verticalistas que Comte. También dice Comte que se necesita conocer la historia de una ciencia para comprenderla (p. 87). De nada sirve el enfoque sistemático sin el enfoque histórico. Epa. “El método positivo será modificado permanentemente” (p. 108). Epa. La abstracción y la aplicación deben complementarse, aunque la primacía es de la abstracción. Epa. Inquietantes ecos positivistas en la Escuela de Frankfurt, que explícitamente intenta salvar al Iluminismo (Rettung der Aufklärung, Horkheimer & Adorno, Dialéctica del Iluminismo). Este Curso de Comte es una copa de cognac Rémy Martin VSOP en una noche de invierno.
August 27, 2024
"Discurso sobre el espíritu positivo" de Auguste Comte es una obra fundamental en la filosofía positivista que, aunque influyente en su época, puede resultar difícil de apreciar plenamente para el lector contemporáneo. En este texto, Comte expone su visión sobre la evolución del conocimiento humano y la importancia del pensamiento científico como base para el progreso social. Si bien su contribución al desarrollo del positivismo es innegable, el libro presenta varios desafíos.
Una de las principales dificultades es el estilo de Comte, que puede ser denso, repetitivo y, en ocasiones, confuso. Su prosa es excesivamente formal y cargada de tecnicismos que complican la lectura, lo que hace que sea fácil perderse en las largas disertaciones teóricas. Esto limita el acceso a sus ideas para aquellos que no están profundamente familiarizados con su obra o con la historia de la filosofía.
Además, el enfoque de Comte en el libro a menudo resulta rígido y excesivamente dogmático. La creencia en que la ciencia (en especifico la astronomia) puede explicar todos los aspectos de la vida y el pensamiento humano deja poco espacio para otras formas de conocimiento, lo que puede parecer reductivo y poco flexible para los lectores que buscan una visión más abierta de la realidad.
Por otro lado, aunque la influencia de Comte en la sociología y en el desarrollo de las ciencias sociales es indiscutible, algunas de sus ideas han sido superadas por enfoques más recientes. El "Discurso" a veces se siente desconectado de los avances contemporáneos en la filosofía y las ciencias, lo que puede restarle relevancia en el contexto actual.
Asi pues, este libro es una obra importante desde un punto de vista histórico, pero su estilo difícil y su enfoque limitado hacen que sea una lectura desafiante y poco accesible para el público moderno. Por estas razones, merece una evaluación de dos estrellas.
Una de las principales dificultades es el estilo de Comte, que puede ser denso, repetitivo y, en ocasiones, confuso. Su prosa es excesivamente formal y cargada de tecnicismos que complican la lectura, lo que hace que sea fácil perderse en las largas disertaciones teóricas. Esto limita el acceso a sus ideas para aquellos que no están profundamente familiarizados con su obra o con la historia de la filosofía.
Además, el enfoque de Comte en el libro a menudo resulta rígido y excesivamente dogmático. La creencia en que la ciencia (en especifico la astronomia) puede explicar todos los aspectos de la vida y el pensamiento humano deja poco espacio para otras formas de conocimiento, lo que puede parecer reductivo y poco flexible para los lectores que buscan una visión más abierta de la realidad.
Por otro lado, aunque la influencia de Comte en la sociología y en el desarrollo de las ciencias sociales es indiscutible, algunas de sus ideas han sido superadas por enfoques más recientes. El "Discurso" a veces se siente desconectado de los avances contemporáneos en la filosofía y las ciencias, lo que puede restarle relevancia en el contexto actual.
Asi pues, este libro es una obra importante desde un punto de vista histórico, pero su estilo difícil y su enfoque limitado hacen que sea una lectura desafiante y poco accesible para el público moderno. Por estas razones, merece una evaluación de dos estrellas.
August 7, 2018
"The general problem of education consists enabling an individual of usually but average ability to reach in a few years the same stage of development that has been attained during a long series of ages by the efforts of a large number of superior thinkers, who have throughout their lives concentrated their attention upon the same subject." (47-48)This Hackett edition collects the first two chapters of Comte's massive Cours de philosophie positive. In the first—The Nature and Importance of the Positive Philosophy—he expounds his law of three stages, according to which each branch of our knowledge passes in succession through three different theoretical stages: the theological or fictitious state, the metaphysical or abstract state, and the final scientific or positive state. The second chapter—The Classification of the Positive Sciences—is where Comte outlines his ideas about how the sciences ought to be classified. I actually got this edition because I wanted to read Comte's description (and ostensible coinage) of the term altruism, but I got to the end of the book—to my disappointment—without having encountered the notion or a discussion of it. I was sure this edition included his writings on altruism... Oh well, I'll have to look elsewhere. The Introduction to Positive Philosophy was still worth reading, though, for little gems like the quotation above, as well as for one of the first calls for the systematic study of social phenomena (Comte also ostensibly coined the term sociology, although he refers to it as social physics [at least in the English translation] from what I've read—but the idea is there all the same).
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October 20, 2020No es una obra agradable en sentido estricto ni una filosofía actual en cualquier otro sentido. Compte es un pensador que encaja con su contexto y el espíritu de su tiempo y así se le puede y debe entender, pero no más allá. Esto no quiere decir que no sea interesante aproximarse a su filosofía y comprenderla. Además, a pesar de la mala prensa que el propio Julián Marías (traductor de la obra) y mi profesor de Filosofía del siglo XIX difunden sobre su estilo literario, lo cierto es que, sin ser grácil ni bello, es claro y fácil de seguir, lo cual siempre es un valor. No recomendaría esta obra a la ligera, porque no entretiene ni se pueden extraer conclusiones filosóficas muy frescas, pero si alguien, dentro o fuera de la filosofía, tiene algún interés en el positivismo y en Compte en concreto, no hay mejor obra para adentrarse en ambos.
September 22, 2024
Super ! propice à la réflexion
August 27, 2017
Auguste Comte is niet de minste: hij is een der grondleggers van de sociologie (hij heeft dat woord zelf uitgevonden, evenals het begrip altruïsme) en grondlegger van het positivisme. In dit boekje vat Comte zijn leer samen voor de geïnteresseerde beginner. Helaas is Comte een verre van heldere schrijver en het is soms flink worstelen door zijn zinnen, waar hij veel suggereert, maar maar weinig benoemt. Comte neemt veel aan, maar bewijst niks, in weerwil van zijn advocatuur voor combinatie van empirie en rede.
Daarbij is Comte's relaas in typisch product van zijn plaats en tijd: post-revolutionair Frankrijk. In dit tijdperk, waarin velen theologie zagen als iets dat had afgedaan, was er duidelijk behoefte aan een nieuwe, leidende filosofie en Comte meent hierin te voorzien. Maar Comte's positivisme is van een zelfingenomen vermeende evidentie. Zo is op zijn opvatting dat de mensheid drie stadia van denken kent (een religieuze, metafysische en tot slot positivistische) nogal wat aan te merken, maar dit vooruitgangsdenken kenmerkt het positivisme natuurlijk. Ook verwacht Comte veel te veel van de mens als redelijk wezen en van toepassing van de wetenschappelijke methode op sociale vraagstukken en moraal. En wanneer Comte de toekomstige, heilzame werking van het positivisme op de staat beschrijft, zakt hij door dezelfde mand als zijn tijdgenoot Marx met diens dictatuur van het proletariaat.
Wat dat betreft, blijft Comte's positivisme het best overeind in de wetenschap en daar heeft zijn filosofie dan ook een grote invloed op gehad. Bij Comte lezen we stelling dat wetenschap en religie onverenigbaar zijn en dat goede wetenschap een combinatie vormt van empirie en theorievorming. Ook mooi is zijn pleidooi voor breed onderwijs voor alle klassen, inclusief les in wiskunde, scheikunde, sterrenkunde enz.
Comte werd aan het eind van zijn leven een beetje gek en probeerde een seculiere religie te stichten. Het positivisme, zoals in dit boekje beschreven, heeft hem beter overleefd, maar toch ben ik bang dat Comte's invloed op het denken en de maatschappij kleiner is dan hijzelf dacht en had gehoopt.
Daarbij is Comte's relaas in typisch product van zijn plaats en tijd: post-revolutionair Frankrijk. In dit tijdperk, waarin velen theologie zagen als iets dat had afgedaan, was er duidelijk behoefte aan een nieuwe, leidende filosofie en Comte meent hierin te voorzien. Maar Comte's positivisme is van een zelfingenomen vermeende evidentie. Zo is op zijn opvatting dat de mensheid drie stadia van denken kent (een religieuze, metafysische en tot slot positivistische) nogal wat aan te merken, maar dit vooruitgangsdenken kenmerkt het positivisme natuurlijk. Ook verwacht Comte veel te veel van de mens als redelijk wezen en van toepassing van de wetenschappelijke methode op sociale vraagstukken en moraal. En wanneer Comte de toekomstige, heilzame werking van het positivisme op de staat beschrijft, zakt hij door dezelfde mand als zijn tijdgenoot Marx met diens dictatuur van het proletariaat.
Wat dat betreft, blijft Comte's positivisme het best overeind in de wetenschap en daar heeft zijn filosofie dan ook een grote invloed op gehad. Bij Comte lezen we stelling dat wetenschap en religie onverenigbaar zijn en dat goede wetenschap een combinatie vormt van empirie en theorievorming. Ook mooi is zijn pleidooi voor breed onderwijs voor alle klassen, inclusief les in wiskunde, scheikunde, sterrenkunde enz.
Comte werd aan het eind van zijn leven een beetje gek en probeerde een seculiere religie te stichten. Het positivisme, zoals in dit boekje beschreven, heeft hem beter overleefd, maar toch ben ik bang dat Comte's invloed op het denken en de maatschappij kleiner is dan hijzelf dacht en had gehoopt.
December 3, 2017
Auguste Comte is considered the founder of sociology and of the philosophical doctrine known as positivism. He is credited with introducing the concept of the empirical study of society as a distinct discipline. On the other hand, his view of social science as essentially like physical science has some serious potential problems; for one thing, you can't run controlled experiments with people the way you can with, say, chemicals...
According to Comte, the history of human thought has 3 stages. First is the theological stage in which people use the intervention of supernatural beings to explain the universe. The replacement of polytheism with monotheistic religion made the idea of God more like an abstract force, and introduced a way of looking at the world in terms of underlying unifying forces. The second stage is the abstract or metaphysical stage in which abstract forces explain the universe. The third stage of history is the positive stage. In the positive stage observed facts are the only source of reliable knowledge.
Comte argues that the current cause of social conflict is disagreement about which of the three views is correct; the disagreement has to be resolved in favor of one view in order to maintain social stability. Comte thinks that the positivist approach is the only one that has continued to make intellectual progress throughout history, so it will eventually win out over the others. He's dismissive of the question of whether this would be a good or bad thing, arguing that the correct philosophy is the one which is most historically influential. This kind of historical determinism was an important influence on Marx.
According to Comte, the history of human thought has 3 stages. First is the theological stage in which people use the intervention of supernatural beings to explain the universe. The replacement of polytheism with monotheistic religion made the idea of God more like an abstract force, and introduced a way of looking at the world in terms of underlying unifying forces. The second stage is the abstract or metaphysical stage in which abstract forces explain the universe. The third stage of history is the positive stage. In the positive stage observed facts are the only source of reliable knowledge.
Comte argues that the current cause of social conflict is disagreement about which of the three views is correct; the disagreement has to be resolved in favor of one view in order to maintain social stability. Comte thinks that the positivist approach is the only one that has continued to make intellectual progress throughout history, so it will eventually win out over the others. He's dismissive of the question of whether this would be a good or bad thing, arguing that the correct philosophy is the one which is most historically influential. This kind of historical determinism was an important influence on Marx.
December 19, 2012
A brilliant reflection of the 19th century's Zeitgeist.
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January 2, 2025tale as old as time
January 11, 2024
Esse foi um livro interessante ter lido logo após a "Pedagogia do oprimido", por Paulo Freire pois se constrastam de forma que Comte é academicista, mas convergem de maneira de ambos anseiam em substituir uma educação dogmático e retrógrada.
December 10, 2021
This little book comprises the first two chapters of his Course on Positive Philosophy. He lived from 1798 to 1857.
Comte believes that human inquiry goes through three stages.: A theological stage, a metaphysical stage and finally a positive stage. The theological stage consists in imaginative attempts to understand the nature of things in the world.
The metaphysical stage consists in creating abstract concepts to attempt to understand the nature of things.
The positive stage is when we no longer look for the origins of things but rather recognizes the impossibility of obtaining absolute truth and that’s gives up the search after the origin and hidden causes of the universe. It endeavors now only to discover the actual laws of phenomena, that is to say, their invariable relations of succession and likeness. We are to measure what we can observe.
Comte sees human knowledge as following a trajectory much as Hegel and Marx saw history as following a trajectory.
“The division of intellectual labor is one of the most important and characteristic attributes of the positive philosophy“
He recommends that we create a new specialty the study of general scientific traits. This office of the positive philosophy in relation to the positive sciences is the name of the present work.
Comte believes that the very first beginnings of the positive stage came with a work of Descartes and Bacon and Galileo.
He believes that eventually every area of inquiry, every science will be carried out in this positive way. It is absurd to think that someone area might continue in one of the more primitive modes. He does admit that sociology or what he calls social physics remains in a more primitive mode at the moment.
He does not see that in introspection or reflection can be of any use to positive philosophy. Thinkers have engaged in psychological reasoning for two millennia and have produced nothing.
The positive science gives us the general rules with which we can engage in the investigation of truth, but also of no less important is the general recasting of our educational system.
He believes that science has been hindered by specialization and uses the example of Descartes combining geometry and algebra. What if that had been done centuries earlier? Where would we be now?
He believes that the ultimate chaos we see in world affairs is due to the confusion of men’s minds due to the simultaneous employment of three radically incompatible philosophies – the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive.
Applying positive principles to social phenomenon is all that remains to be done. We can then some up the body of knowledge in a single homogenous doctrine.
Chapter 2
“it is therefore evident that, after the study of nature has been conceived in a general way as serving for the rational basis of our action upon it, the intellect must next proceed to theoretical research is, leaving Holly on one side every practical consideration.“ “It appears to me that this theoretical system should be the only subject dealt with at the present day and a truly rational course of positive philosophy…“ “It seems to be in deed to demand previous work of a very important and wholly special nature, which has not yet been accomplished – that of constructing, in accordance with scientific theories proper, the special conceptions intended to serve as direct bases for the general operations of practice.“ Very rationalistic of him.
Comte makes the point that science can be quite abstract or it can be concerned with practical applications. Science itself can be quite abstract or general or it could be quite specific concrete or descriptive. The abstract sciences are more fundamental.
To summarize then human knowledge as a whole is composed of theoretical and/or of practical knowledge and he is concerned with the former. Theoretical knowledge or science can be divided between general in special sciences and hear again he is only concerned with the former.
Scientific education can be expounded either historically or theoretically: the first shows how discoveries were made, while the second offers a system of ideas is it might be conceived by a single mind.
“It is accordingly clear that, although it is infinitely easier and quicker to learn than to originate, it would be quite impossible to attain the desired end if we tried to compel each individual mind to pass excessively through the same intermediate stages that the collective genius of mankind has necessarily had to traverse.“ This actually runs counter to John Dewey‘s ideas about authentic education.
He does admit that the theoretical educational method leaves the student in complete ignorance of the way in which the different sciences have built up, but he is not concerned about this.
In fact scientific inquiry has been so interlaced with the arts and in general with the development of human civilization that the only true history of a science can be made by making a direct study of the general history of humanity.
There is the discussion of the differences in the sciences as they relate to organic or inorganic material. Comte thinks that in the case of organic material theological and metaphysical thought continue to dominate.
He thinks that we should begin with in organic physics and specifically astronomy.
“It follows from the foregoing discussion but the positive philosophy is naturally divided into five fundamental sciences. The sciences are: astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, and lastly, social physics.“
Comte has not mentioned mathematics and that is because as he sees it mathematics is the true fundamental basis of the whole of the positive philosophy. As he sees it mathematics must be divided between abstract mathematics or calculus and concrete mathematics which is composed of general geometry and rational mechanics. “The abstract part is the only portion that is truly instrumental, being simply an immense and admirable extension of natural logic to a certain order of deductions.“
“It is, therefore, mathematical science that must constitute the true starting point of all rational scientific education, whether general or special.“
Added to his original list of five-Astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, and social physics –he now adds mathematics.
This is an interesting and short introduction to Auguste Comte‘s philosophy of positivism. He takes a historical view of scientific developments and draws his conclusions. He makes no attempt to justify his argument.
Comte believes that human inquiry goes through three stages.: A theological stage, a metaphysical stage and finally a positive stage. The theological stage consists in imaginative attempts to understand the nature of things in the world.
The metaphysical stage consists in creating abstract concepts to attempt to understand the nature of things.
The positive stage is when we no longer look for the origins of things but rather recognizes the impossibility of obtaining absolute truth and that’s gives up the search after the origin and hidden causes of the universe. It endeavors now only to discover the actual laws of phenomena, that is to say, their invariable relations of succession and likeness. We are to measure what we can observe.
Comte sees human knowledge as following a trajectory much as Hegel and Marx saw history as following a trajectory.
“The division of intellectual labor is one of the most important and characteristic attributes of the positive philosophy“
He recommends that we create a new specialty the study of general scientific traits. This office of the positive philosophy in relation to the positive sciences is the name of the present work.
Comte believes that the very first beginnings of the positive stage came with a work of Descartes and Bacon and Galileo.
He believes that eventually every area of inquiry, every science will be carried out in this positive way. It is absurd to think that someone area might continue in one of the more primitive modes. He does admit that sociology or what he calls social physics remains in a more primitive mode at the moment.
He does not see that in introspection or reflection can be of any use to positive philosophy. Thinkers have engaged in psychological reasoning for two millennia and have produced nothing.
The positive science gives us the general rules with which we can engage in the investigation of truth, but also of no less important is the general recasting of our educational system.
He believes that science has been hindered by specialization and uses the example of Descartes combining geometry and algebra. What if that had been done centuries earlier? Where would we be now?
He believes that the ultimate chaos we see in world affairs is due to the confusion of men’s minds due to the simultaneous employment of three radically incompatible philosophies – the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive.
Applying positive principles to social phenomenon is all that remains to be done. We can then some up the body of knowledge in a single homogenous doctrine.
Chapter 2
“it is therefore evident that, after the study of nature has been conceived in a general way as serving for the rational basis of our action upon it, the intellect must next proceed to theoretical research is, leaving Holly on one side every practical consideration.“ “It appears to me that this theoretical system should be the only subject dealt with at the present day and a truly rational course of positive philosophy…“ “It seems to be in deed to demand previous work of a very important and wholly special nature, which has not yet been accomplished – that of constructing, in accordance with scientific theories proper, the special conceptions intended to serve as direct bases for the general operations of practice.“ Very rationalistic of him.
Comte makes the point that science can be quite abstract or it can be concerned with practical applications. Science itself can be quite abstract or general or it could be quite specific concrete or descriptive. The abstract sciences are more fundamental.
To summarize then human knowledge as a whole is composed of theoretical and/or of practical knowledge and he is concerned with the former. Theoretical knowledge or science can be divided between general in special sciences and hear again he is only concerned with the former.
Scientific education can be expounded either historically or theoretically: the first shows how discoveries were made, while the second offers a system of ideas is it might be conceived by a single mind.
“It is accordingly clear that, although it is infinitely easier and quicker to learn than to originate, it would be quite impossible to attain the desired end if we tried to compel each individual mind to pass excessively through the same intermediate stages that the collective genius of mankind has necessarily had to traverse.“ This actually runs counter to John Dewey‘s ideas about authentic education.
He does admit that the theoretical educational method leaves the student in complete ignorance of the way in which the different sciences have built up, but he is not concerned about this.
In fact scientific inquiry has been so interlaced with the arts and in general with the development of human civilization that the only true history of a science can be made by making a direct study of the general history of humanity.
There is the discussion of the differences in the sciences as they relate to organic or inorganic material. Comte thinks that in the case of organic material theological and metaphysical thought continue to dominate.
He thinks that we should begin with in organic physics and specifically astronomy.
“It follows from the foregoing discussion but the positive philosophy is naturally divided into five fundamental sciences. The sciences are: astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, and lastly, social physics.“
Comte has not mentioned mathematics and that is because as he sees it mathematics is the true fundamental basis of the whole of the positive philosophy. As he sees it mathematics must be divided between abstract mathematics or calculus and concrete mathematics which is composed of general geometry and rational mechanics. “The abstract part is the only portion that is truly instrumental, being simply an immense and admirable extension of natural logic to a certain order of deductions.“
“It is, therefore, mathematical science that must constitute the true starting point of all rational scientific education, whether general or special.“
Added to his original list of five-Astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, and social physics –he now adds mathematics.
This is an interesting and short introduction to Auguste Comte‘s philosophy of positivism. He takes a historical view of scientific developments and draws his conclusions. He makes no attempt to justify his argument.
September 22, 2024
Complete dogshit. Great example of rigorous enlightenment argument, where it suffices to dismiss non-scientific/non-mechanistic reasoning on the basis of its failure to reason scientifically and mechanistically.
April 3, 2022
Who would've thought, a book about epistemology made into political rhetoric. It's not even good political rhetoric, either. Not very good.
August 3, 2025
Comte pren la dialèctica hegeliana i la cientifitza. Per a Comte, existeix un progrés o evolució històrica del pensament, de la barbàrie a la civilització moderna, del pensament teològic al pensament positiu passant pel pensament metafísic. Per a Comte, cal agraïr a la metafísica haver acabat amb la teologia, però és hora, també, de desterrar-la, de deixar de posar-nos preguntes sense resposta, d’abandonar el camp de la pura imaginació, si bé subsumida a certa lògica —lògica que haurà permès el propi inici del positivisme, al segle XVII. Perquè el que és el positivisme, és l’imperi de la ciència, la “representación de lo real” amb l’autoritat científica del costat, és a dir, la determinació d’allò que és i allò que no és real. El que vol Comte és transformar el que resta de filosofia metafísica, especialment en l’àmbit moral, en filosofia positiva. I per això, afirmarà que existeix o, eventualment, existirà un saber sobre la Humanitat que permetrà la instauració del millor ordre moral possible. Perquè la moral fins ara ha estat individual, diu, i cal subsumir de nou l’individu a l’espècie.
“Para él, el hombre propiamente dicho no existe, no puede existir más que la Humanidad, puesto que todo nuestro desarrollo se debe a la sociedad, desde cualquier punto de vista que se le mire. Si la idea de sociedad parece todavía una abstracción de nuestra inteligencia, es, sobre todo, en virtud del antiguo régimen filosófico; pues, a decir verdad, es la idea de individuo a quien pertenece tal carácter, al menos en nuestra especie.” p.115-116
“Según la teoría positiva de la Humanidad, demostraciones irrecusables, apoyadas en la inmensa experiencia que ahora posee nuestra especie, determinarán con exactitud la influencia real, directa o indirecta, privada y pública, propia de cada acto, de cada costumbre, de cada inclinación o sentimiento; de donde resultarán naturalmente, como otros tantos corolarios inevitables, las reglas de conducta, sean generales o especiales, más conformes con el orden universal, y que, por tanto, habrán de ser ordinariamente las más favorables para la felicidad individual. A pesar de la extrema dificultad de este magno tema, me atrevo a asegurar que, tratado con-venientemente, es capaz de conclusiones tan ciertas como las de la geometría misma.”
Sentim els calfreds? El que desitja Comte és, en definitiva, el manteniment d’aquest ordre, però només perquè dins mateix d’aquest ordre el pensament teològic i el metafísic es troben ja en procés de dissolució i, per tant, pot començar el projecte revolucionari de la Humanitat positiva, d’una humanitat completament racional, científica, moral, que ja no es pot titllar de dogmàtica perquè idealment, la revolució és universal i, per tant, també el dogma ho seria. I tot això apel·lant, és clar, a la naturalitat del caràcter positiu en la Humanitat: per a Comte, l’esperit positiu —com aquell que, abocat al món, intenta predir-lo, descobrir-ne les lleis— ha conviscut històricament amb la teologia i amb la metafísica, però només ara es troba en les condicions històriques per a dominar el pensament. Un pensament, un saber, que haurà de subsumir-se a les necessitats humanes, i que per sí sol no val res. Com tot bon text filosòfic, té alguns punts extremament inquietants, pertorbadors, i d’altres els quals no podem repudiar, com a mínim no al moment. Però sempre que una presenta una utopia em venen les pors.
“Para él, el hombre propiamente dicho no existe, no puede existir más que la Humanidad, puesto que todo nuestro desarrollo se debe a la sociedad, desde cualquier punto de vista que se le mire. Si la idea de sociedad parece todavía una abstracción de nuestra inteligencia, es, sobre todo, en virtud del antiguo régimen filosófico; pues, a decir verdad, es la idea de individuo a quien pertenece tal carácter, al menos en nuestra especie.” p.115-116
“Según la teoría positiva de la Humanidad, demostraciones irrecusables, apoyadas en la inmensa experiencia que ahora posee nuestra especie, determinarán con exactitud la influencia real, directa o indirecta, privada y pública, propia de cada acto, de cada costumbre, de cada inclinación o sentimiento; de donde resultarán naturalmente, como otros tantos corolarios inevitables, las reglas de conducta, sean generales o especiales, más conformes con el orden universal, y que, por tanto, habrán de ser ordinariamente las más favorables para la felicidad individual. A pesar de la extrema dificultad de este magno tema, me atrevo a asegurar que, tratado con-venientemente, es capaz de conclusiones tan ciertas como las de la geometría misma.”
Sentim els calfreds? El que desitja Comte és, en definitiva, el manteniment d’aquest ordre, però només perquè dins mateix d’aquest ordre el pensament teològic i el metafísic es troben ja en procés de dissolució i, per tant, pot començar el projecte revolucionari de la Humanitat positiva, d’una humanitat completament racional, científica, moral, que ja no es pot titllar de dogmàtica perquè idealment, la revolució és universal i, per tant, també el dogma ho seria. I tot això apel·lant, és clar, a la naturalitat del caràcter positiu en la Humanitat: per a Comte, l’esperit positiu —com aquell que, abocat al món, intenta predir-lo, descobrir-ne les lleis— ha conviscut històricament amb la teologia i amb la metafísica, però només ara es troba en les condicions històriques per a dominar el pensament. Un pensament, un saber, que haurà de subsumir-se a les necessitats humanes, i que per sí sol no val res. Com tot bon text filosòfic, té alguns punts extremament inquietants, pertorbadors, i d’altres els quals no podem repudiar, com a mínim no al moment. Però sempre que una presenta una utopia em venen les pors.
February 27, 2025
This book explains the side of Comte famously denounced by John Stuart Mill. Whereas in earlier works Comte had set out an exciting theory of the history of knowledge, in this and in similar works, Comte had insisted upon a deeply idiosyncratic and even totalitarian "religion of humanity" that would finally bring history to its conclusion. Having read this work, I am sympathetic to Mill's evaluation.
That said, Comte does offer a fascinating example of how human beings attempt to make sense of the modern world. In some ways, he is strikingly modern. He insists that the emotions and not reason are the perfection of humanity. We live an embodied existence in communities the influence of which gives the lie to myths of individual self-reliance. Beyond this, we should value knowledge not for its own sake, but for its effects. Human society can be brought together and perfected in the light of knowledge.
But Comte's real passion is for an ideal order that is based on a structure of knowledge and beliefs that come to a stop and become universal. Just as the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages seemed to possess all answers and to control the end of human history, Comte believes that we are on the verge of founding a new Positive Church that will have all the answers and for which all answers will at last be true. Comte does no dream that modernity is the beginning of an accelerating change. Rather he believes that it is the beginning of a stable and eternal synthesis.
The way Comte argues for his synthesis is superficial, or rather analogical. Reason and morality is the ruler of the body yet is separated from the animal spirits that move it. Therefore, the priesthood of humanity must likewise set down the governing principles of all but must obtain from direct involvement in politics. Women for Comte are a distinct species with a distinctive development of the sentiment of morality. Therefore Comte sets out their place in excruciating detail. The distinct place of everything in the world must become obvious and indisputable for the Utopia of Comte (and similar thinkers) to exist at all.
That said, Comte does offer a fascinating example of how human beings attempt to make sense of the modern world. In some ways, he is strikingly modern. He insists that the emotions and not reason are the perfection of humanity. We live an embodied existence in communities the influence of which gives the lie to myths of individual self-reliance. Beyond this, we should value knowledge not for its own sake, but for its effects. Human society can be brought together and perfected in the light of knowledge.
But Comte's real passion is for an ideal order that is based on a structure of knowledge and beliefs that come to a stop and become universal. Just as the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages seemed to possess all answers and to control the end of human history, Comte believes that we are on the verge of founding a new Positive Church that will have all the answers and for which all answers will at last be true. Comte does no dream that modernity is the beginning of an accelerating change. Rather he believes that it is the beginning of a stable and eternal synthesis.
The way Comte argues for his synthesis is superficial, or rather analogical. Reason and morality is the ruler of the body yet is separated from the animal spirits that move it. Therefore, the priesthood of humanity must likewise set down the governing principles of all but must obtain from direct involvement in politics. Women for Comte are a distinct species with a distinctive development of the sentiment of morality. Therefore Comte sets out their place in excruciating detail. The distinct place of everything in the world must become obvious and indisputable for the Utopia of Comte (and similar thinkers) to exist at all.
March 26, 2024
Comte claims that the transition from theological to "positive" (i.e. scientific) thinking in the natural sciences means that our thinking about society will also undergo a revolution, leading to "social physics", what he would later call "sociology". He expects that scientific knowledge of society, once taught in a rational manner alongside the other sciences, will lead to a change in worldview among the people that will end the age of revolutions that Europe has been in since the French Revolution. However, he doesn't really talk about his speculations for what sociology will look like, which is what I was really hoping for. Instead he spends a long time classifying knowledge into Science/Engineering/Industry, Theoretical/Practical, Astrological/Terrestrial, Organic/Inorganic, Animal/Human, until he can claim to have "rationally" classified the "fundamental" sciences into mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, and sociology. Is this really so modern? It's almost Aristotelean! Some points of interest: 1) the introduction of the field of chemistry, 2) the discussion of engineers as a mediating discipline 3) a discussion about the need to reduce the role of reading classical works in scientific education, by summarizing the state of the art in a theoretical form.
May 2, 2024
Achei algumas partes interessantes, como a própria intenção de se estabelecer uma ciência, entendendo o papel do possível pensamento positivista na sociedade, não apenas em ver os fatos mas de conseguir prever o que irá acontecer, entender o que está de fato conectado ao fato ou não. E também de entender de fato a visão conservadora naquele momento de questão social, algo que vai se permanecer no Durkheim, em ver os problemas enquanto relações morais, a tal da solidariedade.
Mas, acho um filósofo mediano no total, mesmo sendo considerado o pai da Sociologia, Durkheim está muito a frente dele. Mesmo assim, pretendo reler futuramente.
Mas, acho um filósofo mediano no total, mesmo sendo considerado o pai da Sociologia, Durkheim está muito a frente dele. Mesmo assim, pretendo reler futuramente.
March 5, 2020
Positivism, is something that is very relative today, and yes, it is obvious to see it around(if you look at academia), something that is not obvious. A couple of things that come to mind are :
• The way Science subjects are considered differently from the 'Arts'
• How we all have to learn up to level 2 Science in school.
Although maybe this is stretching things.
That is the power of this kind of writing - for that reason this book is worth reading; even if Comte does waffle on a bit.
• The way Science subjects are considered differently from the 'Arts'
• How we all have to learn up to level 2 Science in school.
Although maybe this is stretching things.
That is the power of this kind of writing - for that reason this book is worth reading; even if Comte does waffle on a bit.
March 24, 2023
Отец социологии и позитивизма. Сегодня стоит читать только для чувствования духа времени. Ну и для понимания лозунга "Ordem e Progresso" на флаге Бразилии.
По иерархии наук есть интересный материал в PLOS ONE, где идея Конта (успешно) статистически тестируется:
Daniele Fanelli. (2010). “Positive” Results Increase Down the Hierarchy of the Sciences
По иерархии наук есть интересный материал в PLOS ONE, где идея Конта (успешно) статистически тестируется:
Daniele Fanelli. (2010). “Positive” Results Increase Down the Hierarchy of the Sciences
December 27, 2022
La filosofía positiva como sistema de pensamiento ha sido superado, sin embargo, para comprender el pensamiento actual, es necesario leer esta síntesis que Comte realizó de su sistema de filosofía positiva (que no se confunda con positivismo).
May 15, 2019
Very interesting, if brief. I intend to read the entire "course" of Comte's Positive Philosophy at some point.
Read
January 26, 2021I actually, surprisingly, enjoyed this quite a bit!
Read
April 22, 2022me chupa un huevo pienso contar también los libros que me hacen leer para la facu
August 21, 2023
Lo leí en contra de mi voluntad. :(
September 6, 2023
so r*tarded
September 18, 2024
Wasted my time
August 3, 2025
Il m’a presque convaincue ce con !
February 28, 2022
Essa obra é de 1844 e trata da natureza e destino do espírito positivo. O objeto do livro é a evolução intelectual e moral da humanidade por meio do espírito positivo ou científico.
O livro tem três partes. Na primeira, Comte trata dos três estágios teóricos do desenvolvimento da humanidade: teológico (fetichismo, politeísmo e monoteísmo), metafísico (entidades personificadas, p.ex., razão e natureza) e positivo. Para ele, os dois primeiros são transitórios, e o último é definitivo.
No estado positivo, buscam-se leis ou relações causais entre fenômenos para explicar a realidade. A ciência é o motor que leva a progresso por meio da observação e previsão. O autor sugere que no estado positivo promovam-se ordem e progresso por meio da plena sistematização mental. Para Comte, o espírito positivo é uma expressão do bom senso universal.
Na parte dois, Comte sugere que o espírito positivo é o único capaz de deter a anarquia moral e intelectual e de conciliar ordem e progresso, que o espírito positivo deve assumir um papel moral superando as fases teológica e metafísica, e que o espírito positivo é social e só considera a humanidade como um todo, e não os indivíduos separadamente.
Na última parte, Comte sugere que o espírito positivo seja disseminado no meio do povo, que uma política positiva seja moral e social, e que o estudo positivo seja enciclopédico.
O livro de Comte não é um livro de sociologia, como entendemos hoje. O autor sempre ressalta que sua visão é uma filosofia intelectual e moral para o progresso. Essa "filosofia" é permeada de preconceitos com relação às abordagens teológica e metafísica e sugere uma fé cega no homem que supostamente está se dirigindo a um progresso moral e intelectual. Que padrão de progresso Comte adota não é discutido, até porque ele teria de transcender as fronteiras de uma visão meramente cientificista.
Logicamente, as duas guerras mundiais minaram essa fé cega no progresso moral e intelectual do indivíduo. O pior dessa "filosofia" é seu elemento universalista por meio do qual os indivíduos se tornam parte de um todo social. Na prática, a visão que sugere que o Estado seja o ente totalizante que leve os indivíduos a um progresso moral e intelectual resultou nas mais terríveis atrocidades no século XX. Essa é uma obra para se conhecer, mas é datada, superada e antropologicamente errada.
O livro tem três partes. Na primeira, Comte trata dos três estágios teóricos do desenvolvimento da humanidade: teológico (fetichismo, politeísmo e monoteísmo), metafísico (entidades personificadas, p.ex., razão e natureza) e positivo. Para ele, os dois primeiros são transitórios, e o último é definitivo.
No estado positivo, buscam-se leis ou relações causais entre fenômenos para explicar a realidade. A ciência é o motor que leva a progresso por meio da observação e previsão. O autor sugere que no estado positivo promovam-se ordem e progresso por meio da plena sistematização mental. Para Comte, o espírito positivo é uma expressão do bom senso universal.
Na parte dois, Comte sugere que o espírito positivo é o único capaz de deter a anarquia moral e intelectual e de conciliar ordem e progresso, que o espírito positivo deve assumir um papel moral superando as fases teológica e metafísica, e que o espírito positivo é social e só considera a humanidade como um todo, e não os indivíduos separadamente.
Na última parte, Comte sugere que o espírito positivo seja disseminado no meio do povo, que uma política positiva seja moral e social, e que o estudo positivo seja enciclopédico.
O livro de Comte não é um livro de sociologia, como entendemos hoje. O autor sempre ressalta que sua visão é uma filosofia intelectual e moral para o progresso. Essa "filosofia" é permeada de preconceitos com relação às abordagens teológica e metafísica e sugere uma fé cega no homem que supostamente está se dirigindo a um progresso moral e intelectual. Que padrão de progresso Comte adota não é discutido, até porque ele teria de transcender as fronteiras de uma visão meramente cientificista.
Logicamente, as duas guerras mundiais minaram essa fé cega no progresso moral e intelectual do indivíduo. O pior dessa "filosofia" é seu elemento universalista por meio do qual os indivíduos se tornam parte de um todo social. Na prática, a visão que sugere que o Estado seja o ente totalizante que leve os indivíduos a um progresso moral e intelectual resultou nas mais terríveis atrocidades no século XX. Essa é uma obra para se conhecer, mas é datada, superada e antropologicamente errada.
July 13, 2014
Comte's book comes from the spirit of the Hegelian age, which postulated that history and thought were progressing to the ideal age in which reason and science would rule, and that religion and metaphysics would become obsolete. This is a thought in which would destroy and partition the human psyche, soul, and spirit.
From reading ancient wisdom texts like the I Ching, ancient religion and its wisdom has an upmost practical value in social affairs. we can see the number of people in our society who are completely selfish and have no awareness of what their appetites do to themselves and others. This is what C.S. Lewis said when "hell is when everyone tries to get their way."
To say that ancient wisdom and religious metaphysics is to be eventually overcome by an evolution in the maturity of the human mind, is the principle error of this book and of scientists and psychologists like Freud, who said essentially the same thing as Comte that religion is to be overcome as an infantile delusion and crutch for the enfeebled. This why Jung is right when he says that religion is still needed to merge both ancient man to modern man in order to reach self-individuation.
The conception of truth is completely wrong too. The book is essentially relative when it says that it needs all disciplines to analyze a subject, and affirming truth in all sciences and all disciplines are needed and that there is NO ONE perspective in which to analyze. Comte even satirizes "thing in themselves" which is an admission that you cannot understand the thing as it is.
In Philosophy, one must search for the first philosophy in which all of the other sciences must be understood. If there is no objective truth to be found, then what knowledge are we searching for? Relativism broods itself in this doctrine and cannot be taken seriously in its practical application.
Nor does the fact that we have not reached the age in which we have overcome religion.
From reading ancient wisdom texts like the I Ching, ancient religion and its wisdom has an upmost practical value in social affairs. we can see the number of people in our society who are completely selfish and have no awareness of what their appetites do to themselves and others. This is what C.S. Lewis said when "hell is when everyone tries to get their way."
To say that ancient wisdom and religious metaphysics is to be eventually overcome by an evolution in the maturity of the human mind, is the principle error of this book and of scientists and psychologists like Freud, who said essentially the same thing as Comte that religion is to be overcome as an infantile delusion and crutch for the enfeebled. This why Jung is right when he says that religion is still needed to merge both ancient man to modern man in order to reach self-individuation.
The conception of truth is completely wrong too. The book is essentially relative when it says that it needs all disciplines to analyze a subject, and affirming truth in all sciences and all disciplines are needed and that there is NO ONE perspective in which to analyze. Comte even satirizes "thing in themselves" which is an admission that you cannot understand the thing as it is.
In Philosophy, one must search for the first philosophy in which all of the other sciences must be understood. If there is no objective truth to be found, then what knowledge are we searching for? Relativism broods itself in this doctrine and cannot be taken seriously in its practical application.
Nor does the fact that we have not reached the age in which we have overcome religion.
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