This essay is concerned with the influence of the positivist philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) on the thought of the modern world. In particular, the influence of Comte's early version of social science on later thought will be examined and analyzed. Comte could be said to represent the logical conclusion of much that had been initially theorized upon during the French Enlightenment. Comte's three stages of development in human thinking: the theological, the metaphysical, the scientific or positive--have never at any period been completely accepted by serious thinkers. However, since Comte's death in 1857, they have certainly been influential on the thought of modern society.
However, Comte's real significance is derived from his philosophy of positivism, which holds that when mankind reached intellectual maturity, science became possible. Consequently, the world was described by laws founded on observable relations of phenomena. Comte's purpose was to complete the positivistic stage by removing metaphysics from sociologic reasoning, and then to render sociology a science in its own right.
The objectives of Comte's sociology were quite practical. As Comte states: "Now that the human mind has founded celestial physics, terrestrial physics (mechanical and chemical), and organic physics (vegetable and animal), it only remains to complete the system of observational sciences by the foundation of social physics " (Comte, 1988, p. 13). This, of course, refers to the term "sociology," which was invented by Comte to designate the vigorous investigation of social phenomena according to the concepts of positive philosophy. Thus, Comte goes on to say: "The formation of social physics at last completes the system of natural sciences . . . In one word, it is a course on positive philosophy, and not on the positive sciences, that I propose to give " (Comte, 1988, p. 14). Consequently, Comte's Cours de philosophie positive (18...