Auguste Comte by John Morley (1865)
The biography focuses on the life and ideas of Auguste Comte, a French philosopher who founded positivism. It explores his early years, education, and development of his philosophical system. The book examines Comte's views on science, religion, and society, as well as his concept of the law of three stages.
By John Morley · First published 1865 · Genre: Biography, Philosophy, History · 13,775 words
First lines
Comte is now generally admitted to have been the most eminent and important of that interesting group of thinkers whom the overthrow of old institutions in France turned towards social speculation. Vastly superior as he was to men like De Maistre on the one hand, and to men like Saint Simon or Fourier on the other, as well in scientific acquisitions as in mental capacity, still the aim and interest of all his thinking was also theirs, namely, the renovation of the conditions of the social union. If, however, we classify him, not thus according to aim, but according to method, then he takes rank among men of a very different type from these. What distinguishes him in method from his contemporaries is his discernment that the social order cannot be transformed until all the theoretic conceptions that belong to it have been rehandled in a scientific spirit, and maturely gathered up into a systematic whole along with the rest of our knowledge. This presiding doctrine connects Comte with the social thinkers of the eighteenth century, -- indirectly with Montesquieu, directly with Turgot, and more closely than either with Condorcet, of whom he was accustomed to speak as his philosophic father.[1]
What this Textopian page supports
Auguste Comte is listed on Textopian as an essay by John Morley, dated 1865 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Essay
- Author: John Morley
- Date: 1865 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Biography, Philosophy, History, Sociology, Criticism
- Length: 13,775 words
- Structure: 1 section, 60 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Auguste Comte by John Morley
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Auguste Comte?
- How does this essay by John Morley fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Biography first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- Georg Brandes by Hjalmar Hjorth Boysen
- Edwin Percy Whipple by John Greenleaf Whittier
- M Caro On George Sand by Oscar Wilde
- Thomas Carlyle And His Works by Henry David Thoreau
- Lydia Maria Child by John Greenleaf Whittier
- The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Genres
- Biography — The work focuses on the life and contributions of a significant historical figure.
- Philosophy — It explores philosophical ideas and theories associated with the subject.
- History — The text provides historical context and analysis of the subject's impact on society.
- Sociology — It discusses the development of sociological thought and its implications.
Tags
Biography · Philosophy · Sociology · Positivism · French History · Intellectual History · 19th Century Thought · Scientific Method · Social Science · Historical Figure · Influence on Society · Critical Analysis
More by John Morley
- Critical Miscellanies Vol. 3 of 3, Essay 8: France in the Eighteenth Century (1904)
- Critical Miscellanies (Vol 3 of 3), Essay 5: On Pattison's Memoirs (1904)
- Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 3 of 3), Essay 6: Harriet Martineau (1904)
- Indian Speeches (1901)
- On Compromise (1874)
- Burke (1867)
- Vauvenargues (1751)
- Turgot (1873)
- All works by John Morley