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Early Lectures on Positive Philosophy
In 1826, Comte began lecturing on his "system of positive philosophy" to private audiences. Following a nervous breakdown, Comte spent a year recovering, finally returning to lecturing in 1828 (Britannica 2021). -
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Course of Positive Philosophy is Published
Published six volumes of work entitled Cours de philosophie positive (Course of Positive Philosophy). Within these volumes, Comte establishes that the methods of natural science can be applied to the study of societal progression. Through this, he derives a Law of Three Stages: Theological, Metaphysical, and Positivism. (Cont. in assignment description). -
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Système de politique Published
Published four volumes of work entitled Système de politique positive (System of Positive Polity). Comte expounds on humanity's need for morality at the center of progression and, concurrently, at the center of human knowledge (Pickering 2009) and establishes the political system (e.g. polity) that would be required to enable such a paradigm shift (Gane 2006, p. 26), while formulating a human-centric religion to package it up (Lawhead 2004). -
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Supporting Works Published
Comte Published Catéchisme positiviste (Eng. trans. The Catechism of Positive Religion) in 1852 and Synthèse subjective (Eng. trans. Subjective Synthesis) in 1856. Both works continued to expound on and support his concepts written about in Système. The video, 3.8 The Importance of Auguste Comte, produced by the University of Amsterdam, wonderfully explains Comte's approach to sociology (see works cited for link). -
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Comte's Death and the Continuity of Sociology
Comte succumbed to a terminal form of cancer in 1857. Many of the core principles expressed in Système, and particularly the logical organization of scientific knowledge that makes up sociology, proceeded his death, maintaining well-established positions within the field of sociology. However, much of the religiosity in respect to polity was overshadowed by the rise of Marxism near the closeout of the 19th century (Lawhead 2004).