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Auguste Comte

Name- Isidore Auguste Maris Francois Xavier Comte


Born-

19th January 1798

Died-

September. 5, 1875(aged 59) Paris France

Notable Ideas- Positivism, law of three stages, classification of sciences and sociology.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF AUGUSTE COMTE


Auguste Comte [1798-1857] was a great French thinker, a famous social philosopher and the first sociologist.
It was he who laid the foundations of sociology and is acclaimed as the "father of sociology ". He insisted that
the science of society, that is, sociology, should be treated on par with other sciences. Sociology has gone far
ahead in the scientific tradition about which Comte had insisted. The community of sociologists remains ever
grateful to Comte for his pioneering works to make sociology a science.
Comte was born at Montpellier, France, on 19th Jan. 1798, a decade after the French Revolution. His parents
were very humble, law-abiding and highly religious. His father was a government servant and a royalist and a
traditionalist. From the very beginning, Comte exhibited extra-ordinary mental ability, a strong character, and
a tendency to go against authority. He was often described as "brilliant and recalcitrant." He was a voracious
reader and had an excellent memory power. In school, he won many prizes and led the students who used to
call him "the philosopher."
Comte received his primary education at the Imperial Lycee and joined the famous "Ecole Polytechnique" in
Paris at the age of 16. Here he was taught by professors of physics and mathematics who had no interest in
the study of human affairs and society. But unlike them, Comte developed great social and human concern.
As a youth, Comte was critical of Napoleon's administration and disliked both parental and religious
authority. He even led a group of students in demanding the resignation of one of his instructors at the
school. Though Comte was a bright student he never received a college-level degree. This had a
negative effect on his teaching career. In 1818, he became secretary to Saint Simon. [1760-1825] a
philosopher, forty years senior to Comte. Saint Simon was a great socialist thinker of the day, and was

often referred to as a socialist dreamer. Comte became his secretary for which he was getting 300 francs
per month as salary. In course of time, Comte became his co-worker, co-writer and co-thinker. The
friendship between the two lasted only for a few years, that is, up to 1824 only. They jointly published
the work "Plan of the Scientific Operations necessary for the Reorganization of Society" - 1822; [also
known as "The Prospectus of the scientific Works required for the Reorganization of Society] and
thereafter their partnership dissolved.

Comte believed that Saint Simon was not giving him adequate

credit for his contributions.

Comte married in the year 1825 but within 17 years, that is, in 1842, his wife deserted him. He almost led an
isolated life for a long time due to his personal disappointments and quarrels with others. He had to face
economic crisis also. A small group of his admirers invited him to deliver a series of private lectures on
positive philosophy. Good number of learned men including scientists and economists were attending his
lectures His lecture notes were later published (between 1830-42) in six volumes running to 4800 pages
which constituted his masterly work called "Course of Positive Philosophy". This treatise fetched him a
sizeable number of admirers even outside France. J.S. Mill of England, a famous philosopher, for example,
was impressed by his work.
In 1826, Comte thought of a scheme of presenting a series of 72 lectures on his philosophy of life. The
course drew a distinguished audience. It was, however, halted after three lectures when Comte suffered a
nervous breakdown. He was unhappy with his wife whom he had married in 1825 [and who deserted him in
1842]. At one stage in 1827 he sought to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Seine river.
Comte had taken to teaching at the Ecole Polytechnique, During this period Comte worked on the famous six
volume work-running to 4800 pages, known as "Positive Philosophy" ["Course de Philosophic Positive"]. In
that work Comte was the first to use the term "sociology". He also outlined his view that sociology was the
ultimate science. This book fetched him a sizeable number of admirers even outside France.
By 1851, Comte had completed the four Volume book entitled "System of Positive Politics" ["Systeme de
Polytique Positive"]. This book proposed to offer a grand plan for the reorganization of society. Here Comte
tried to apply the findings of theoretical sociology to the solutions of social problems.
Comte had a series of bizarre ideas. He believed in "cerebral hygiene", and to preserve his mental health he
stopped reading the works of other writers. He wanted to suggest proposals for the improvement of society.
But in his attempts to do so he deviated from the path and established the "religion of humanity" claiming
himself to be its high priest.

Comte, whose life was beset with stresses and strains, conflicts and controversies, poverty and isolation,
breathed his last on 5th Sept. 1857. The religion which he started died along with him but the science he set
out continues to flourish.
Main Works of Auguste Comte
1. "The Prospectus of the Scientific Works Required for the Reorganization of Society", 1822 - A joint work
of Comte and Saint Simon.
2. "Positive Philosophy", 1830-1842 - in six volumes.
3. "Positive Polity", 1851-54 - in four volumes.
COMTEAN POSITIVISM
The acknowledged founder of "positivism" or "positive philosophy" is no other than the French
philosopher Comte himself. "Positivism" is nothing but a "philosophy of science." It has its roots in the
"empiricist tradition." It rejects metaphysical speculation in favour of "positive" knowledge based on
systematic observation and experiment. Though Comte is regarded as the founder of positivism, he was
influenced by the writings of David Hume and Claude H. Saint-Simon.
Meaning of Positivism
Positivism refers to "the doctrine formulated by Comte which asserts that the only true knowledge
is scientific knowledge, that is, knowledge which describes and explains the co-existence and
succession of observable phenomena, including both physical and social phenomena." '
Positivism-denotes "any sociological approach which operates on the general assumption that the
methods of physical sciences (example, measurement, search for general laws, etc.) can be carried over
into the social sciences."
Nature of Comtean Positivism
Comte used the term "positivism" in two distinctive ways: (i) positivism as a "doctrine" and (ii) positivism
as a "method".
Positivism As a Doctrine
Positivism as a Way of Thinking: As developed by Auguste Comte, positivism is a way of thinking
based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge
about how it works. Such knowledge can be used to affect the course of change and improve the human
condition.

Positivism of Comte which represents a philosophical position states that knowledge can be derived only
from sensory experience. Metaphysical speculation, subjective or intuitive insight, and purely logical
analysis, are rejected as outside the realm of true knowledge. The methods of the physical sciences are
regarded as the only accurate means of obtaining knowledge, and therefore, the social sciences should
be limited to the use of these methods and modeled after the physical sciences.
Positivism As a Method
Positivism Implies the Use of Scientific Method: By the concept of "positivism ", Comte meant the
application of scientific methods to understand society and its changes. Applying this concept to the
modern societies, Comte emphasised that sociology must depend on careful observation, usually based on
statistical measures of social statics and social dynamics. He also recognised that sociology would have to
be less experimental than the physical sciences because of the ethical and practical difficulties
intervening in people's lives.
Comte believed that social life is governed by underlying laws and principles that can be discovered through
the use of methods most often associated with the physical sciences. In choosing the term "positivism",
Comte conveyed his intention to repudiate all reliance on earlier religious or speculative metaphysical
bases of knowledge'. However, Comte regarded scientific knowledge as 'relative knowledge', not
absolute. Absolute knowledge was, and always would be unavailable.
Positivism would essentially mean a method of approach. The methods of science can give us knowledge of
the laws of co-existence and succession of phenomena, but can never penetrate to the inner "essence" or
"nature" of thing. As applied to the human social world, the positive method yields a law of successive
states through which each branch of knowledge must first pass, that is, the theological, then metaphysical, and
finally positive [or scientific] state. Since the character of society flows from the intellectual forms which
predominate in it, this gives Comte a law of the development of human society itself.
Positivism Deifies Observation and Classification of Data: According to Comte, positivism is purely an
intellectual way o looking at the world. He believed that the mind should concentrate on the observation
and classification of phenomena. He believed that both theological and metaphysical speculations as he used
the terms, were as likely to be fiction as truth, and that there is no way of determining which is the cause.
Thus, it would be more profitable if a person would direct his thoughts to the lines of thinking which are most
truly prolific, namely to observation and classification of data. Comte even took the position that it is futile to
try to determine causes. We can observe uniformities, or laws, but it is mere speculation to assign causes to
these uniformities. Positivism deified observation and classification of data. Its weaknesses should not hinder

the student, however, from seeing the importance of its emphasis upon the scientific procedure of observing
and classifying data in an age when dogmatism and speculation were rife.
Comte's work was much admired by John Stuart Mill, amongst others, and positivism became something of a
popular movement in the latter part of the nineteenth century. But Comte's views shifted later in his life,
under the influence of Clotilde de Vaux. He came to see that science alone did not have the binding force for
social cohesion, as he had earlier supposed. He argued that the intellect must become the servant of the heart,
and advocated a new 'Religion of Humanity'.
Impact of Positivism on Social Thinking
Comtes positivism" has its own impact on the world of social thinking. Today, positivism signifies adherence to an
empiricist view of the nature of science. It also projects a scientific approach to the study of social life on the
empiricist model. "As far as the social sciences are concerned, this would mean modelling of the methods of
social sciences on those of natural science. It also signifies an attempt to discover social laws similar to the
law-like regularities discovered by natural sciences and an absolute insistence on the separation of facts and
values.
Criticisms Against Positivism
Positivism is Not Influential at Present: Positivism has had relatively little influence in contemporary
sociology for several reasons. Current views argue that positivism encourages a misleading emphasis on
superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be, observed. For example, we
cannot observe human motives or the meaning that people give to behaviour and other aspects of social life,
but this does not mean that meaning and motive are nonexistent or irrelevant. Some argue that the nature of
social life is such that the methods used in the physical sciences are simply inapplicable and must be replaced
with a less rigid approach.
2. Methological Gulf Between the Physical and Social Sciences : Criticisms of positivism commonly focus
on the inappropriateness of natural-scientific methods in the human or social sciences. Consciousness, cultural
norms, symbolic meaning, and intentionality, etc., are variously held to be distinctive human attributes which
dictate a methodological gulf between natural science and the study of human social life.
3. Problem of Verification: Methodologically, a central problem of positivism arises from the so-called
'problem of empiricism'; the lack of any conclusive basis for 'verification' in 'inductive logic'. A further telling
criticism - the so-called 'paradox of positivism' - is that the verification principle is itself unverifiable.'

LAW OF THREE STAGES


The theory of "The Law of Three Stages" constitutes one of the main contributions of Comte to the field of
sociological thought. The influence of Charles Darwin and his "theory of organic evolution" had its own impact
on Comtean views including his law of three stages.
Auguste Comte organized and classified the social thought prevailing before his times. Comte gave birth not
only to a specific methodology of studying knowledge but also analyzed the evolution of human thinking and
its various stages. The principle evolved by Comte in the study of human thinking presumes gradual evolution
and development in human thinking and is known as the law of three stages of thinking.
Affinity between the Development of Human Knowledge and the Development of Society
Comte who was busy in laying the foundations of a new social science, began his task with an analysis of
types of thinking. Comte elaborated the Law of Three Stages of human thought (or the Law of Human
Progress): theological, metaphysical and positive. These Stages, he thought, characterized the development of
both human knowledge and of society, which correspondingly developed from a military to a legal, and finally
to an industrial stage. According to Comte, the evolution of the human mind has paralleled the evolution of
the individual mind. Just as an individual tends to be a staunch believer in childhood, a critical metaphysician
in adolescence and a natural philosopher in manhood, so mankind in its growth has followed three major
stages. Comte believed that each field of knowledge passes through three periods of growth namely:
(i) First Stage. Theological or Fictitious Stage,
(ii) Second Stage. Metaphysical or Abstract Stage.
(ii) Third Stage Positive or Scientific Stage.

(i) The Theological Stage


The primitive persons everywhere tend to think in supernatural terms. They believe that all phenomena are
"produced by the immediate action of supernatural beings." They believe in all kinds of fetishes in which
spirits or supernatural beings live. Hence, "fetishism" as a form of religion started and it admitted of no
priesthood, because its gods are individuals, each residing in fixed objects.
When the mind of primitive man became better organised, fetishism became cumbersome. Too many
fetishes created confusion. Hence, they started believing in several gods. Thus arose polytheism created the
class of priests to get the goodwill and the blessings of these gods. The presence of too many gods also
created for them mental contradictions. Hence, they arranged the gods, in the form of hierarchy. Finally,
they developed the idea of one god, or of monotheism. They started believing in the superhuman power of

only one god. Slowly feelings and imaginations started giving place to thinking and rationality.
Monotheism is the climax of the theological stage of thinking. This kind of thinking was suited to the
military society.
(ii) The Metaphysical Stage
The metaphysical thinking is almost an extension of the theological thinking. Rationalism started growing
instead of imagination. Rationalism states that God does not stand directly behind every phenomenon. Pure
reasoning insists that God is an Abstract Being. Reasoning helped man to find out some order in the natural
world. The continuity, regularity and infallibility found in the natural order were attributed to some
"Principles" or "Power". Thus, principles and theories gained ascendency over feelings and speculations.
Even these metaphysical explanations were unsatisfactory to the mind. Still this kind of thinking corresponded
with the legal type of society, Comte maintained.
(iii) The Positive Stage
The positive stage represents the scientific way of thinking. As Comte stated, "In the final, the positive
stage, the mind has given over the vain search after Absolute notions, the origin and destination of the
universe, and the causes phenomena, and applies itself to the study of their laws - that is, their invariable
relations of succession and resemblance."
Comte developed his concept of positivism, which is a purely intellectual way of looking at the world. He
stressed the need for observation and classification of phenomena. He even said that it is futile to try to
determine causes. "We can observe uniformities, or laws, but it is mere speculation to assign cause to these
uniformities " - he stated. Positivism actually glorified observation and classification of data. The positive
thinking suits the needs of the industrial society.
STAGES IN SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND PROGRESS
Comte not only identified three stages in the development of human thinking but also observed three stages
in the development of society or social organisation. Each of these modes of thinking -the theological,
metaphysical and the positive - determines and corresponds to a type of social organisation. This
explanation of Comte could be regarded as another major contribution of his to social thought.
Comte declared that theological thinking leads to a military and monarchical social organisation. Here the
God would be there as the head of the hierarchy as King, of Kings and a mighty warrior. The human beings
would be arranged in a military organisation. Divine sanction rules. This divine sanction could hardly be
questioned or challenged. Dogmatism would prevail here and its challengers would be punished or
threatened with severe punishments.

"Metaphysical thinking produces a government nominated by doctrines of abstract rights." It corresponds to


a legalistic social organisation. The Medieval social organisation clearly represented this kind of society. Here
the natural rights were substituted for divine rights. Priesthood is furthered. Society becomes legalistic, formal
and structural. In Europe nation-states emerged during this stage.
Positive thinking produces a society dominated by industrialists. It leads to an industrial society in which men
inquire into the nature and utilization of the natural resources and forces. Here the main stress is on the
transformation of the material resources of the earth for human benefit, and the production of material inventions.
In this positive or scientific stage the great thought blends itself with the great power.
Concluding Comments
Comte has made it abundantly clear that the intellectual evolution is the most important aspect in human
progress. Still, he was aware of the importance of factors such as increase in population, division of labour, etc.
in determining the rate of social progress. As L.A. Coser writes, "It can hardly be questioned that Comte's Law of
Three Stages has a strongly materialistic or idealistic bias."
According to Prof. N.S. Timasheff, "Comte's law of the three stages in the meaning ascribed to it by its
inventor is clearly invalid." As he opines, "neither of the later approaches (metaphysical and scientific) wholly
supersedes the religious approach; rather, there has been accumulation and often admixture of the three." He
further writes, "Comte's law of the three stages could not stand the test of facts known today."
TThree Stages:

Theological Stage

Metaphysical Stage

Positive Stage

Nature of Society:

Military Society

aLegal Society

Industrial Society

Unit of Society:

Family

N Nation

Entire Humanity

Basic Principle:

Love of Family

Mutual Co-Existence or

Universality or

Or Type of Order

Or Domestic order

Collective order

Universal Order

AAffection or

Mutual Respect or

Kindness or

AAttachment

Veneration

Benevolence

Prevailing
orsentiment:
Type of Order

CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES
Comte's theory relating to the "classification of sciences" is directly related with his "Law of Three Stages."
Just as mankind progresses only through certain determined stages, so also scientific knowledge passes through
similar stages of development. But all the sciences do not attain progress with the same rate of speed. Hence, he
felt the need to provide a hierarchy of sciences. The classification of the sciences with sociology as the latest and
greatest of the group, occupies the third phase in the Comtean system of thought.
Existence of "Classification of Sciences" - Prior to Comte
The idea of the "classification of sciences" did not originate with Comte. It did exist prior to Comte. From
times immemorial thinkers have been trying to classify knowledge on some basis. The early Greek thinkers
undertook to classify all knowledge under three headings: (1) physics, (2) ethics, and (3) politics.
Later on, Bacon made the classification on the basis of the faculties of man namely, (i) memory, (ii) imagination,
and (iii) reason. The science based upon memory is history; the science based upon imagination is poetry, and
the knowledge based upon reason is physics, chemistry, etc. Comtean classification of sciences has its own
specialties among which the following may be noted
Special Features of Comtean Classification of Sciences
1. Linkage with the "Law of Three Stages"
Comtean classification of sciences, as it is already stated, is linked with his famous contribution to the social
thought namely, the law of three stages. The logic of the link is that - as with individuals and societies, so with
the sciences themselves - they all pass through the same stages.
2. The Main Purpose of the Classification
It could be inferred that Comte had a specific purpose in providing a classification of sciences. The main aim of
the classification of knowledge by Comte was to prepare the background and the basis for the study of
"sociology a new science founded by him. On the basis of this principle he also determined the methodology of
sociology. It also helped him in establishing the relation between sociology and other sciences. It tried to
establish the fact that by discovering some general principles, it is possible to establish relationship among
various sciences.

3.

Classification

of Knowledge

on

the Basis

of the Principle of Increasing Dependence

Comte chose "the order of increasing dependence" as his principle of classifying knowledge. Comte
"arranged the sciences so that each category may be grounded on the principal laws of the preceding category,
serve as a basis for the next ensuing category. The order, hence is one of increasing complexity and decreasing
generality. The most simple phenomena must be the most general - general in the sense of being everywhere
present."'
This principle could be stated in simple words in this way: The facts pertaining to different sciences differ in
complexity. Some facts are simple while others are complex. The complex facts being dependent on simple
facts are, general and are present everywhere. The sciences based upon complex sciences are, in turn, dependent
upon simple sciences Thus, each science is, in some measure, dependent upon some other science and by itself
forms a basis of some other science. On this basis Comte presented a serial order of sciences.
Comte was of the opinion that the more complex sciences in the course of their development will ultimately attain
the positive stage. He thus stated: "Any kind of knowledge reaches the positive stage early in proportion to its
generality, simplicity and independence of other departments. "Hence astronomy, the most general and
simple of all natural sciences, develops first. In time, it is followed by physics, chemistry, biology, and finally
sociology. Each science in this series depends for its emergence on the prior developments of its predecessors in
Hierarchy marked by the law of increasing complexity and decreasing generality."
4.

Classification of Sciences Begins With Mathematics

Comte considers mathematics the basic tool of the mind. "With mathematics as its chief tool the mind of man
can go anywhere in its thinking. Mathematics is the most powerful instrument which the mind may use in the
investigation of natural laws. "*
According to Comte, mathematics occupies the first place in the hierarchy of the sciences. Mathematics, in the
Comtean scheme, is not a constituent member of the group of sciences. It is the basis of them all. It is the oldest
and most perfect of all the sciences.
Comte gives importance to mathematics for yet another reason. He says that mathematics is "the science." It is the
science that measures precisely the relations-between objects and ideas. It ascertains the relationships between
things, a process which is basic to scientific thinking in all fields. Comte confidently asserts: "Education that is
based on any other method is faulty, inexact, and unreliable. It is only through mathematics that we can
understand sciences. "

5. The Design of the Classification of Sciences


In the Comtean design of the hierarchy of sciences mathematics occupies the lowest rung and the topmost, rung
is occupied by sociology. The hierarchy of this classification is as follows: (I) Mathematics, (2) Astronomy,
(3) Physics, (4) Chemistry. (5) Biology, and (6) Sociology or Social Physics. This classification makes it clear
that the simplest and the least dependent science is at the bottom and the most complex and dependent of the
sciences is at the top of the hierarchy.
Comtean Scheme of Hierarchy of the Sciences
Sociology and the Moral Sciences

Increasing Specificity

Physiology (Biology)

Complexity

Comtean Scheme of Hierarchy of the Sciences


Sociology and the Moral Sciences

Increasing Specificity

Physiology (Biology)

Complexity

Chemistry

synthesis

Physics

Relative Simplicity

Celestial Physics (Astronomy)

Generality

Mathematics

Analytical

Hierarchy of Sciences : According to this view of the sciences, first proposed by Comte, the sciences can
be arranged in ascending order of complexity, with sciences higher in the hierarchy dependent, but not only
dependent, on those below. Thus, sociology makes assumptions about the physical and biological world, but
at the same time also involves an "emergent" level of analysis different from and not reducible to those
below.
6. Classification of Sciences into Inorganic and Organic
Comte stated that the classification of knowledge could be done in another manner by making use of
mathematics as the tool. Thus all natural phenomena could be categorized into two grand divisions: inorganic
and organic. Comparatively speaking, inorganic sciences [for example, astronomy, physics, chemistry] are
simpler and clearer. Organic sciences such as biology are more complex. "It involves the study of all life and
the general laws pertaining to the individual units of life.

7. Social Sciences Including Sociology at the Apex of the Hierarchy


In the Comtean scheme, social sciences are at the apex of the hierarchy for they enjoy "all the resources of the
anterior sciences." Social sciences are the most complex and the most dependent for their emergence on the
development of all the other sciences. Social sciences offer "the attributes of a completion of the positive
method: All others are preparatory to it. Hence, they occupy the highest place in the hierarchy." Social physics
or sociology according to Comte is the last and the greatest of the sciences. Although sociology has special
methodological characteristics that distinguish it from its predecessors in the hierarchy, it is dependent on
them too.
8. The Emphasis on Holistic Approach in Social Sciences
According to Comte, inorganic sciences proceed from simple to compound and the organic sciences move the
reverse way from compound to simple. Hence, the inorganic sciences pursue what is known as individualistic
approach whereas organic sciences [including sociology] stress upon the importance of the "holistic
approach. The holistic approach is the natural direction of the progress of sciences. All sciences progress
towards the positive method. Sociology is the crowning glory of all sciences. Tie holistic approach starts with
biology and culminates with sociology. Biological approach is virtually the holistic approach and it proceeds
from the study of the organic wholes.
The Stress on the Organic Unity: Comte in his approach towards society stressed on the organic unity of
society. Comte has thus stated: "In the organic sciences, the elements are much better known to us than the
whole which they constitute; so that in that case we must proceed from the simple to the compound. But the
reverse method is necessary in the study of man and society Just as biology cannot explain an organ or a
function apart from the organism as a whole, sociology cannot explain social phenomena without reference to
the total social context.

Concluding Comments
1. Though the classification of sciences presented by Comte is not free from certain limitations, it still holds
some importance today. In this scheme of classification Comte found an appropriate place for sociology and
gave that discipline its name.
2. Comte successfully established through his classification of sciences that sociology is also a positive science.
He also stressed that sociology must be a theoretical discipline. "The conversion of sociology into a positive
science completed the system of positive philosophy thus marking the onset of the positive stage of development
of the human mind and human society. It meant, in Comte's view, the real "positive revolution, the victory of

science over the scholasticism of past epochs.


3. Comte's "idea of organic unity or the primacy of the system over element, has important theoretical
implications. Comte has repeatedly asserted that one element of social entity could be understood only in
terms of the entity as a whole.
4. Comte's assertion of the principle of increasing dependence in the classification of sciences has today
culminated in what is being called "interdisciplinary approach." This approach is quite popular at the
academic level. In this regard Bogardus writes: "Comte urged that no science could be effectually studied
without competent knowledge concerning the sciences on which it depends. It is necessary not only to have a
general knowledge of all the sciences but to study each of them in order
- this is Comte's dictum to the student of sociology. Comte insisted that one general science could not
develop beyond a given point until the preceding has passed a given stage.

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