Comte, Auguste, << kawnt, oh GOOST >> (1798-1857), was a French social thinker and philosopher. He founded the philosophy of positivism, and originated a concept of social science known as sociology.
Comte sought to discover the laws that he believed governed the evolution of the mind. In his six-volume work, The Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-1842), he framed his “law of the three states.” This law advanced the idea that people try to understand phenomena in three ways. Comte believed that people first seek a theological (supernatural) explanation; then a metaphysical (abstract) explanation; and finally a positive explanation. The positive explanation is derived from an objective examination of the phenomena. Comte believed that students should concern themselves only with phenomena that have an objective, “positive,” existence. This belief forms a basis of positivism.
Comte regarded all social thought as an interrelated whole, the laws of which can be found by assembling what he considered the facts. Comte’s ideas have influenced students of historical and social theory, and of criminology, and such authors as Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill, who were seeking a “science of society.” Comte was born on Jan. 19, 1798, at Montpellier, France. He died on Sept. 5, 1857.
See also Positivism ; Sociology (History) .
