Traveling The World: Comte's Exploration And Adventure

French philosopher, mathematician, and writer, Auguste Comte, is best known for his formulation of the doctrine of positivism and for coining the term 'sociology'. Comte's work was influenced by the social disorder caused by the French Revolution, which he believed indicated an imminent transition to a new form of society. He sought to establish a new social doctrine based on science, which he labelled positivism.

Comte's major works include his six-volume Cours de philosophie positive (1830–42; “Course of Positive Philosophy”; The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte) and his four-volume Système de politique positive (1851–54; System of Positive Polity). In these works, Comte applied the scientific method to the social world, believing that social phenomena could be reduced to laws in the same way that the revolutions of the heavenly bodies had been made explicable by gravitational theory.

Comte's ideas were very similar to those of French social reformer, Henri de Saint-Simon, and some of his earliest articles were published in Saint-Simon's publications. However, Comte eventually broke with Saint-Simon due to differences in their viewpoints and scientific backgrounds. Comte's work has been criticised as being overly simplistic and ill-founded, but it nevertheless reveals important insights into his thinking about the role of sociology in uniting the sciences and improving society.

Comte's Law of Three Stages

The Law of Three Stages, also known as the law of human progress, is a cornerstone of French philosopher and social theorist Auguste Comte's approach. The theory, which first appeared in his 1822 book, 'Positive Philosophy', describes the evolution of human intellectual development and social evolution over the course of history.

According to Comte, human societies have progressed through three distinct stages: the Theological or Fictitious stage, the Metaphysical or Abstract stage, and the Positive or Scientific stage. Each stage represents a shift in how humans understand the world and their place in it, with each successive stage being more evolved and rational than the last.

The Theological or Fictitious Stage

The first stage, which characterised the world prior to 1300 AD, is marked by a supernatural or divine explanation of natural phenomena and social events. In this stage, human thought is dominated by sentiments, feelings, and emotions. All occurrences are believed to be the result of immediate actions of supernatural beings or the will of God. This stage can be further divided into three sub-stages: Fetishism, Polytheism, and Monotheism. Fetishism is the belief that supernatural powers dwell in inanimate objects like stones or trees. Polytheism is the belief in multiple gods, each controlling different natural forces. Monotheism is the belief in a single, all-powerful God who controls everything in the world.

The Metaphysical or Abstract Stage

The second stage, which lasted from approximately 1300 AD to 1800 AD, is a transitional period where intellectual thought becomes more advanced. People begin to believe that events are caused by a combination of divine powers and rational factors. They recognise their own strengths and capabilities and understand that their actions can influence their surroundings. However, this stage still involves a significant amount of speculation and imagination, and it is criticised by Comte for its lack of genuine explanations.

The Positive or Scientific Stage

The third and final stage, which began around 1800 AD, is characterised by a purely scientific approach to understanding the world. In this stage, people adopt a rational outlook, discarding assumptions that cannot be proven scientifically and accepting only facts supported by scientific evidence. They seek scientific explanations for all phenomena and value objectivity, accuracy, precision, and verifiability. This stage marks the full maturity of human thought, where intellectual concord and social stability are achieved.

Comte's Classification of the Sciences

French philosopher Auguste Comte is known for dedicating his life to establishing a classification system for the sciences that conformed to 'positivist' (non-theological and non-metaphysical) principles. His classification of the sciences is intimately connected with his law of three stages, which states that knowledge progresses through three stages of development: the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive.

Mathematics (or Logic): The "science of pure relations" and the basis for classifying other branches of study.

Astronomy: The first science to reach the "positive stage" and the most general and simple of all natural sciences.

Physics: Includes statics, dynamics, thermology, optics, and electro logy.

Chemistry: The study of the laws of the phenomena of composition and decomposition resulting from the molecular and specific mutual action of different substances.

Physiology (or Biology): The study of the laws of organic dynamics in relation to structure and environment. Includes botany and zoology.

Social Physics (or Sociology): The study of society and social phenomena, including politics, economics, and history.

The Theological Stage

Auguste Comte's Law of Three Stages states that society as a whole, and each particular science, develops through three mentally conceived stages: the Theological Stage, the Metaphysical Stage, and the Positive Stage.

As Fetishism began to bring about doubt in the minds of its believers, people turned towards polytheism: the explanation of things through the use of many gods. Primitive people believed that all natural forces were controlled by different gods. This eventually evolved into monotheism, where people believed in one God or God in one, attributing all to a single, supreme deity.

The Metaphysical Stage is an extension of the Theological Stage. It refers to the explanation by impersonal abstract concepts. People often try to characterize God as an abstract being and believe that an abstract power or force guides and determines events in the world. Metaphysical thinking discards belief in a concrete God.

The Positive Stage, also known as the Scientific Stage, refers to scientific explanation based on observation, experiment, and comparison. Positive explanations rely upon a distinct method, the scientific method, for their justification. This is the highest, most evolved behavior according to Comte.

Comte believed that the Theological Stage was necessary as mankind's earliest philosophy of explanation. However, he disapproved of this stage because it turned to simple explanations humans created in their minds that all phenomena were caused by supernatural agents, rather than human reason and experience.

The Transition to the Metaphysical Stage

The transition from the Theological Stage to the Metaphysical Stage was not a smooth one. Comte believed that the passage from one social system to another could never be continuous and direct. Instead, it was always a crisis, with old certainties being upset, traditions being undermined, and the body social being in fundamental disequilibrium.

The Need for the Positive Stage

Comte believed that the Positive Stage was not only the most evolved but also the stage best for mankind. Through the continuous development of positive sciences, Comte hoped that humans would perfect their knowledge of the world and make real progress to improve the welfare of humanity.

The Law of Three Stages in Practice

Comte was conscious of the fact that the three stages of thinking may coexist in the same society or the same mind and may not always be successive. He proposed a hierarchy of the sciences based on historical sequence, with areas of knowledge passing through these stages in order of complexity.

According to Comte's "law", the sciences developed in this order: Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Sociology. Sociology, as the "Queen science", would both complete the body of positive sciences and link the fields of science together in human history.

Critique of the Law of Three Stages

Historian William Whewell wrote, "Mr. Comte's arrangement of the progress of science as successively metaphysical and positive, is contrary to history in fact, and contrary to sound philosophy in principle."

The Scientific Stage

Comte's theory of the Scientific Stage is rooted in his belief that society evolves and changes over time. He proposed that, after the failure of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, people could find solutions to social problems and implement them, regardless of proclamations of human rights or religious prophecy.

In the Scientific Stage, society is governed by reliable knowledge, and social issues are understood in light of scientific knowledge, particularly that produced by sociology. This stage is characterised by an awareness of the limitations of human knowledge, with absolute explanations abandoned in favour of the discovery of laws based on observable relations between phenomena.

Comte's Scientific Stage is underpinned by his adoption of the scientific method and his belief in the power of science to improve society. He advocated for sociology to be the "Queen science", uniting all other sciences and serving as a basis for political organisation.

Comte's theory of the Scientific Stage is part of his broader "Law of Three Stages", which he believed to be a universal rule for society and its development. This theory holds that society progresses through three distinct phases: the Theological Stage, the Metaphysical Stage, and the Scientific Stage.

Comte's ideas about the Scientific Stage were influenced by other Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers, including Henri de Saint-Simon, with whom Comte collaborated for several years. Comte's work also built upon the ideas of David Hume and Immanuel Kant, from whom he derived his conception of positivism.

While Comte's three-stage model has not stood the test of time, his contributions to sociology and the development of positivism remain significant. Today, sociologists continue to employ scientific methods and strive for scientific rigor in their research, building upon the foundation laid by Comte.

The Religion of Humanity

Comte's religion was defined as:

> 'the state of complete harmony peculiar to human life [...] when all the parts of Life are ordered in their natural relations to each other'.

It had two functions: in its moral function, religion should govern each individual; in its political function, it should unite all individuals. Religion also had three components, corresponding to the threefold division of the cerebral table: doctrine, worship, and moral rule (discipline).

In the positivist religion, worship, doctrine, and moral rule all had the same object: Humanity. Membership of Humanity was sociological, not biological. In order to belong to what was defined as the continuous whole of convergent beings, one had to be worthy of it.

The principal novelty of Comte's religion was found in its public worship, and in the positivist liturgical calendar. As Humanity consists of more dead than living beings, positivism designed a whole system of commemorations, which were to develop the sense of Humanity's historical continuity. The most prominent form of the worship of Humanity was the worship of great men and women. Unlike the French revolutionary calendar, which followed the rhythm of the seasons, the positivist calendar took its inspiration from history and paid homage to great men and women from all nations and all times.

Comte's religion was both private (taking place within the family) and public. The positivists set up a whole system of prayers, hymns, and sacraments. As these were largely inspired by Catholic worship, it was said that it was 'Catholicism without Christ', to which the positivists replied that it was 'Catholicism plus science'.

Comte's religion was not well-received. He even managed to unite both believers and non-believers against him. The many ridiculous details of Comte's religion made the task of his opponents easy. However, this aspect of Comte's thought deserves better than the discredit into which it has fallen.

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