1. Auguste Comte and Early Positivism
Chapter 4

2. August Comte ( )

3. French After the Revolution
Intellectual Background of Positivism:
Efforts in the rehabilitation of social order after the French Revolution 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)

4. 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’.

5. Comte: Social Environment
Social Upheaval
Political Instability
Democratic
Oligarchy of middle-class elites
Dictatorship of Napoleon ( )
Return to Bourbon monarchy
Economic problems
Religious turmoil

6. Comte: Social Environment
Religion & Politics
Parents were Roman Catholics
Power of Church decreasing
Role in education
Land confiscated

7. Comte: Goals for Sociology
1) Create order
Spiritual order
Social & political problems
Diagnose & Cure like diseases
Society’s basic unit=Family

8. Comte: Goals for Sociology
2) Discover natural laws
3) Replace Catholic Church as source of:
Truth
Understanding
Order

9. Comte: Intellectual Roots
Saint-Simon
Comte’s mentor
Both had theory with 3 stages

10. Comte: Intellectual Roots
Benjamin Franklin
“Secular code” of morality
Based on scientific understanding of human nature

11. Comte’s Calendar To make human life more rational
1849, published 13 month calendar
Positivist Calendar
13 months of 28 days each

12. Comte’s Calendar 1 extra day at end of year 1 extra day on leap years
Had no weekdays
1 extra day on leap years
Year begins on Monday, Moses 1
Begins with 1789 as year 1
2014= year 226

13. 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)

14. Positivist View of History
According to Comte the history of mankind develops in three stages:
1. Theological Stage
2. Metaphysical Stage
3. Positivist Stage

15. Comte: Ideas “Law of 3 Stages”
1. Theological Stage (Understanding based on)
Will of Human-like:
Gods
Spirits
Demons
Ghosts

16. Early Theological Stage
Objects are alive & have human-like qualities
Rocks
Trees
Weapons

17. Later Theological Stage
Monotheism
One all-powerful god
Explained everything

18. 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

19. 2) Metaphysical Stage (cont.)
Transition
Upheaval & chaos
Feudal institutions destroyed
Make way for Positive Stage

20. 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

21. Invariable natural laws Sociological truths
3) Positivist Stage
Invariable natural laws
Sociological truths
High Priests of Sociology
Positive spirit
Morality & duties regulate society

22. 3) Positivist Stage Private economic activities
No government intervention
Restrict pretensions of wealthy
Silences the poor

23. Positivist Stage
Social inequality= “just”
Based on individual abilities
Shared truth

24. Societal Stages Societies go through these stages as well: Theological
Metaphysical
Positive

25. Theological Stage Ancient World: Dominated by military men
Basic societal unit is family

26. Metaphysical Stage
Middle Ages: Under authority of churchmen and lawyers
The state rises to social prominence

27. Positive Stage
Modern Age: Governed by industrial administrators and scientific moral guides.
Whole human race becomes main social unit.

28. 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”

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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.

32. 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”

33. Comte’s Terms Social Realism= Society is real “Social organism”
Social Statics= Stability
Social Dynamics= Change
Social Realism=
Society is real
“Social organism”

34. Comte: Human Nature
Humans incapable of self-control
Need social (societal) control

35. Comte: Women’s Role in Society
Intellectually inferior to men
Emotionally superior (e.g., altruism)
Model altruism for children & men
Make society harmonious

36. Comte: Relevance to Sociology
1. Coined term “Sociology”
2. Applied sociology (improve society)
3. Social statics & Social dynamics
4. Emphasized positivism
Science creates truth

37. Functionalism Comte one of the first functionalists
Stressed consequences that social phenomena have on entire social system
And interconnectedness of parts of the system

38. 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