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Date of Birth
Auguste Comte was born on January 20th, 1798, in Montpellier, France. -
"The Course of Positive Philosophy" Begins
In January 1829, Comte begins working on his first series of works that describes the first epistemological perspective of positivism. This work, known as the Course of Positive Philosophy, is split into six volumes which were published from 1830 to 1842. The first three volumes of the "Course" focus primarily on physical sciences such as mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, and physics. This is because Comte believed the physical sciences were simple, and needed to be understood first. -
"The Course of Positive Philosophy" Ends
The latter half of the "Course" focused on what Comte believed to be the most challenging and complex science, human society, which he referred to as the "Queen science." These volumes described the "General Law of Three Stages," which proposed that society goes through stages in a quest for the truth: the theoretical, the metaphysical, and the positive. The first stage represents the normal human mind, the second is a transitional phase and the third is what most closely resembles positivism. -
"The System of Positive Polity" Begins
In 1851, Comte began his work, Système de Politique Positive, which finalized his formulation of sociology and positivism. Positivism is characterized by the thought that all genuine knowledge is derived from reason and logic, therefore it is true by definition or "positive". Comte believed that other forms of knowledge, such as theology, introspection, metaphysics, and intuition, are meaningless and should be rejected by society. Positivism has been criticized for its reductionism and scientism -
"The System of Positive Polity" Ends
In "Système de Politique Positive", Comte also describes two main tenets of positive politics. One being that, "there is no society without government," and two being, "there is no society without government; the proper functioning of society requires a spiritual power independent from the temporal power." Positive politics has generally been viewed unfavorably because of its reactionary and totalitarian traits. Because of this, positivism has declined due to criticism in the 20th Century. -
Date of Death
Comte died in Paris from stomach cancer on September 5th, 1857, at age 59, and was buried in the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery.