Auguste Comte and Early Positivism

Chapter 4

August Comte (1798-1857)

French After the Revolution

• Intellectual Background of Positivism:• Efforts in the rehabilitation of social order after the

French Revolution 1789. There are two mainstreams:

• 1. Return to traditional society (political romanticists)

• 2. New values of modernity and dream of future of the scientific industrial society (positivists)

What is ‘Positivism”?• Epistemological doctrine that true knowledge is

only about fact. • Nature and scope of knowledge

• The fact or the factual is an object that can be observed with our senses.

• Term ‘positive’ doesn’t mean good or useful

• It means ‘the factual’.

Comte: Social Environment Social Upheaval• Political Instability• Democratic• Oligarchy of middle-class elites• Dictatorship of Napoleon (1799-1814)• Return to Bourbon monarchy

• Economic problems• Religious turmoil

Comte: Social Environment

Religion & Politics• Parents were Roman Catholics

• Power of Church decreasing•Role in education• Land confiscated

Comte: Goals for Sociology1) Create order• Spiritual order

• Social & political problems• Diagnose & Cure like diseases

• Society’s basic unit=Family

Comte: Goals for Sociology

2) Discover natural laws

3) Replace Catholic Church as source of:• Truth• Understanding• Order

Comte: Intellectual Roots

Saint-Simon•Comte’s mentor

•Both had theory with 3 stages

Comte: Intellectual Roots

Benjamin Franklin

• “Secular code” of morality •Based on scientific understanding of human nature

Comte’s Calendar

•To make human life more rational

•1849, published 13 month calendar

•Positivist Calendar

•13 months of 28 days each   

Comte’s Calendar• 1 extra day at end of year• Had no weekdays

• 1 extra day on leap years

• Year begins on Monday, Moses 1

• Begins with 1789 as year 1

• 2014= year 226

Comte’s Calendar Names of the months: Best representatives of mankind 1. Moses 2. Homer 3. Aristotle 4. Archimedes 5. Caesar 6. St. Paul 7. Charlemagne 8. Dante 9. Gutenburg 10. Shakespeare 11. Descartes 12. Frederick II (“The Great”, King of Prussia) 13. Bichat (Marie François Xavier Bichat a French anatomist & physiologist)

Positivist View of History• According to Comte the history of

mankind develops in three stages:

1. Theological Stage

2. Metaphysical Stage

3. Positivist Stage

Comte: Ideas• “Law of 3 Stages” • 1. Theological Stage (Understanding based

on)

•Will of Human-like:• Gods• Spirits• Demons• Ghosts

Early Theological Stage

Objects are alive & have human-like qualities•Rocks•Trees•Weapons

Later Theological Stage

Monotheism •One all-powerful god •Explained everything

2) Metaphysical Stage

• (1300 to his time period)

• Natural forces were not superhuman

• Abstract concepts like ‘cause’, ‘ether’ , ‘being’, ‘substance’ etc.

• No more God • God was an abstract entity.

• Social organization = laws-oriented society

2) Metaphysical Stage (cont.)

•Transition

•Upheaval & chaos

• Feudal institutions destroyed

• Make way for Positive Stage

3. Positivist Stage• • Man explains natural phenomena factually

• Ex. Fall of an apple not caused by God or ‘primal cause’, but by ‘gravitation’.

• Humans can observe neither God nor primal cause.• Only fact is observable.

• Social organization is industrial society

• Invariable natural laws•Sociological truths•High Priests of Sociology

•Positive spirit•Morality & duties regulate society

3) Positivist Stage

3) Positivist Stage•Private economic activities

•No government intervention

•Restrict pretensions of wealthy

•Silences the poor

Positivist Stage

•Social inequality= “just”

•Based on individual abilities

•Shared truth

Societal Stages

• Societies go through these stages as well:• Theological •Metaphysical • Positive

Theological Stage

Ancient World: Dominated by military men

Basic societal unit is family

Metaphysical Stage

Middle Ages: Under authority of churchmen and lawyers

The state rises to social prominence

Positive StageModern Age: Governed by industrial

administrators and scientific moral guides. Whole human race becomes main social

unit.

Historical Comparison

“The historical comparison of the consecutive states of humanity is not only

the chief scientific device ...it constitutes the substratum of the science...

Sociology is nothing if not informed by a sense of historical evolution”

TR 9/16 Historical Comparison

Comte: Different parts of the world were at different stages of development.

Comparing these different social systems enables better understanding of social order and social change

Scientific Stages• Each science based on prior development

science preceding it• Each is more complex than the last

• Social sciences are most complex and • Highest in the hierarchy

• Sociology completes positive method. • All others are preparatory to it

The Hierarchy of Sciences

• According to Comte, mathematics is fundamental to all sciences.• Mathematics is basis of modern astronomy• Mathematics and astronomy are the basis of

modern physics. • These three sciences are the basis of the

chemistry and biology. • The complete and last science is sociology that

assumes the other five sciences.

Comte’s Terms

First named new science “social physics”

Later changed this to “sociology”

From the Greek “soci” which means “society” and

Latin “ology” which means “study of”

Comte’s Terms

•Social Statics= Stability

•Social Dynamics= Change

•Social Realism=•Society is real•“Social organism”

Comte: Human Nature

•Humans incapable of self-control

•Need social (societal) control

Comte: Women’s Role in Society

• Intellectually inferior to men

•Emotionally superior (e.g., altruism)

•Model altruism for children & men

•Make society harmonious

Comte: Relevance to Sociology

1. Coined term “Sociology”

2. Applied sociology (improve society)

3. Social statics & Social dynamics

4. Emphasized positivism•Science creates truth

Functionalism

Comte one of the first functionalists

Stressed consequences that social phenomena have on entire social system

And interconnectedness of parts of the system

Functionalism

Always be a “spontaneous harmony” between parts and whole social system

Political institutions and social manners

Manners and ideas

Society must be connected with the development of humanity