Auguste Comte: Volume 1: An Intellectual BiographyThis book constitutes the first volume of a projected two-volume intellectual biography of Auguste Comte, the founder of modern sociology and a philosophical movement called positivism. Volume One offers a reinterpretation of Comte's "first career," (1798-1842) when he completed the scientific foundation of his philosophy. It describes the interplay between Comte's ideas and the historical context of postrevolutionary France, his struggles with poverty and mental illness, and his volatile relationships with friends, family, and colleagues, including such famous contemporaries as Saint-Simon, the Saint-Simonians, Guizot, and John Stuart Mill. Pickering shows that the man who called for a new social philosophy based on the sciences was not only ill at ease in the most basic human relationships, but also profoundly questioned the ability of the purely scientific spirit to regenerate the political and social world. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 The Early Years | 7 |
2 The Life and Works of SaintSimon up to 1817 | 60 |
3 Comtes First Works for SaintSimon | 101 |
4 Comtes Growing Independence 18191821 | 140 |
5 The Fundamental Opuscule and Comtes Rupture with SaintSimon | 192 |
The Search for Connections | 245 |
7 Comtes Efforts to Establish Himself | 315 |
10 Years of Success and Confrontation 18301838 | 429 |
11 Comtes Changing Psyche and Aberrant Behavior 18381840 | 477 |
Comte and Mill | 505 |
A Turning Point | 539 |
Positivism and the Natural Sciences | 561 |
Sociology | 605 |
Conclusion | 691 |
| 711 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Appendice April Arago Armand Marrast Auguste Comte Blainville Campredon Caroline Massin Cerclet Clotilde de Vaux Comte et d'Eichthal Comte to G Comte to Mill Comte to Mme Comte to Valat Comte's concept Condorcet Correspondance de Comte criticized d'Eichthal d'Eichthal to Comte December Destutt de Tracy doctrine Ecole Polytechnique Ecrits Encyclopédie Enfantin essay France French Revolution fundamental opuscule Gouhier Guizot Gustave d'Eichthal Herder human Ibid ideas Idéologues important industrial industriels influence intellectual January Jeunesse July Lamennais law of three letter liberal Littré Louis Comte Maison d'Auguste Comte Marrast Massin to Comte mathematics metaphysical Mme Auguste Comte Montpellier moral nature November Oeuvres organic Paris phenomena philosophie positive Pierre Laffitte Poinsot political politique positive philosophy positivism Positivist Positivist Calendar principles Producteur progress religion revolutionary Rosalie Boyer Saint-Simon Saint-Simonians science of society scientific scientists September sociology spiritual power Tabarié temporal theological theory thinkers tion University Press