Auguste Comte

Abstract

is widely acknowledged as the founder of the science of sociology and the 'Religion of Humanity'. In this fascinating study, the first major reassessment of Comte's sociology for many years, Mike Gane draws on recent scholarship and presents a new reading of this remarkable figure.Comte's contributions to the history and philosophy of science have decisively influenced positive methodologies. He coined the term 'sociology' and gave it its first content, and he is renowned for having introduced the sociology of gender and emotion into sociology. What is less well known, however, is that Comte contributed to ethics, and indeed coined the word 'altruism'.In this important work, Gane examines Comte's sociological vision and shows that because he thought sociology could and should be reflexive, encyclopaedic and utopian, he considered topics such as fetishism, polytheism, fate, love, and the relations between sociology, science, theology and culture.This fascinating account of the birth of sociology fills what till now has been a considerable gap in the market for an accessible text on Comte, based on new research. Gane's work is an essential read for all sociologists and students of the discipline.

From Positivism to Post-Positivism: Progress or Digression?

“…However, more recent scholars have emphasised the continuities in his work, and argued that the view of him as a positivist, in the sense of the term used later to refer to Mill and logical positivists, is misleading. Indeed, it has been suggested that, in important respects, he was post-positivist avant la lettre (see Scharff, 1995;Gane, 2006;Schmaus, 2008;Bourdeau et al, 2018). Furthermore, there are parallels between this re-reading of Comte and some forms of post-positivism in qualitative research today.…”

“…I have drawn heavily on Kolakowski's excellent book. 4 In fact, he often portrays the 'metaphysical' state or stage as a transitional one in which social order was not secured, as illustrated by the French Revolution (see Gane, 2006). and the philosophies of Hegel and Marx, and it represents a sharp difference from many later positivists.…”

Can We Survive Science?—Steve Fuller's Humanity 2.0

“…Comte, for example, argued that it was by modeling itself on the holistic framework of biology that sociology could emerge as a scientific discipline and at the same time contribute to the revolutionary development of society. France was to be at the center of both revolutions in science and society (Gane :3). Emile Durkheim (, ) and his generation thought in terms of medical metaphors such as “social pathology” to describe crime and deviance or the malfunctioning of social groups.…”

Vontades e leis naturais – liberdade e determinismo no positivismo comtiano

“…A obra de Augusto Comte ocupando mais de 20 mil páginas, parece evidente que a lei dos três estados está muito longe de resumir toda a riqueza teórica e metodológica do fundador do Positivismo. Todavia, como há inúmeras exposições de boa qualidade sobre esses fundamentos -por exemplo: Aron (1999), Gane (2006), Fedi (2008) -e como a sua repetição, de fato, é cansativa e apenas desperdiçaria espaço deste artigo, não trataremos deles.…”

“…Tal simplicidade, todavia, é enganadora, pois, de modo geral, considera-se que a teologia é sinônima de "monoteísmo", ao passo que, para Comte, a teologia é principalmente o politeísmo, sendo que ela começa com o fetichismo -cujas características específicas, entretanto, distanciamno muito da teologia -e vê sua fase final no monoteísmo. Aliás, devido ao relativo afastamento intelectual e afetivo do fetichismo em relação à teologia, Comte propôs a sua união (subordinada) ao Positivismo, a fim de aperfeiçoá-lo(GANE, 2006;GRANGE, 1996; FEDI, 2008).…”