Biography of Auguste Comte

(1798/01/19 - 1857/09/05)

Auguste Comte
French positivist philosopher

He was born on January 19, 1798 in Montpellier.
Son of a modest official and a hypochondriac housewife. He had two brothers.
Very good student, obtained several times "le prix preeminence" and equipped with a great memory. He studied at the Polytechnic School of Paris of 1814 to 1816, where he was expelled for taking part in a student revolt. Failed to obtain a University, a fact that negatively influenced his teaching career.
In 1818 he became Secretary of Claude Henri Saint-Simon, one 38 years older than Comte philosopher. They worked together for several years, but in 1824 they separated because Comte believed that Saint-Simon did not give enough credit to his ideas. Later Comte would write about his relationship with Saint-Simon, calling it of "morbid teaching in his teens and taught by a depraved conniving".
On February 19, 1825, married at age 29 with Anne-Calorine Massin. They pass through economic hardships, increase their debts, thus Comte decides to be Professor of "positive philosophy" and organizes a course with 72 prepared in haste. Delivered to a very demanding job that almost didn't allow him to sleep, he suffers a severe nervous breakdown. Opening its course before a small number of listeners and should suspend him. It is sick and guilt to the work and the conduct of his wife as the cause. After being abandoned by his wife because of the violent bouts of anger, he moved to a Saint-Denis in search of rest and doctors advise their detention being diagnosed as a "megalomaniac maniac" being subjected to cold showers and other treatments of the time. He probably suffered a manic-depressive psychosis. Disease is prolonged and the 2 December 1826, thanks to the intervention of his mother, leaves the House of health. Another depression happened to the phase of exaltation, Comte is thrown to the Seine from the bridge of the arts, a Royal Guard saved his drowning death. In 1844, convalescing from an Erysipelas, relate with Clotilde de Vaux, who rejected it at first and who died two years later. After his death the philosopher surrenders completely to the "Religion of the H'umanite" that exposes the second part of his "système de Politique positive" whose 2500 pages written in less than three years.
He argued that the empirical study of the historical process, fell a law that called for the three States and governing the development of mankind. He studied them in his Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-1842; Course of positive philosophy, 1853). Each of the sciences or areas of knowledge must pass by "three different theoretical States: the theological or fictional Stadium;" the metaphysical or abstract stage; "and finally, the scientific or positive". He says that the theological stage is reflected in these notions that speak of the divine right of Kings. The metaphysical stage includes concepts such as the social contract. Positive stadium is the scientific analysis or "sociological" (term coined by Comte) political organization.
He wanted a stable society governed by a minority of learned that use scientific methods to solve human problems. He recognized the value of religion, thus contributing to social stability. It considered that the means to establish social harmony is the propaganda of a «new» religion in which the cult to a personal God is replaced by worship a higher being abstract (to mankind in general). In his system of politics positive (1851-1854; 1875-1877), proposes a religion that stimulate beneficial social behavior.
Auguste Comte died in Paris on September 5, 1857. Hers was buried by disposal when her body was in a State of decomposition, with the right hand over the heart by pressing a medallion with Clotilde, his last and angry love hair.