Auguste Comte Quotes
Auguste Comte was a French philosopher and one of the founders of sociology, a term he coined. He developed the doctrine of positivism, according to which authentic knowledge proceeds from observation and the discovery of laws, and he proposed a law of three stages through which human thought passes from the theological to the metaphysical to the positive or scientific. The quotes below are attributed to Auguste Comte, organized by topic.
Browse Auguste Comte by topic
Auguste Comte on Freedom
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“Reorganisation, irrespectively of God or king, by the worship of Humanity, systematically adopted. Man’s only right is to do his duty. The Intellect should always be the servant of the Heart, and should never be its slave.”
Title Page -
“Language forms a kind of wealth , which all can make use of at once without causing any diminution of the store, and which thus admits a complete community of enjoyment; for all, freely participating in the general treasure, unconsciously aid in its preservation.”
System of positive polity(1852) | Volume II, p. 213
Auguste Comte on Knowledge
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“To understand a science it is necessary to know its history.”
A Course of Positive Philosophy (1832 - 1842) [Six volumes] -
Attributed to Auguste Comte:
“Theories must be based upon facts, just as facts can be observed and arranged only by means of theories.”
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“A Course of Positive Philosophy (1832 - 1842) [Six volumes]”
To understand a science it is necessary to know its history . -
“Le Catéchisme positiviste (1852)”
The dead govern the living . -
“Le Catéchisme positiviste (1852)”
Social positivism only accepts duties , for all and towards all. Its constant social viewpoint cannot include any notion of rights, for such notion always rests on individuality . We are born under a load of obligations of every kind, to our predecessors, to our successors, to our contemporaries. These obligations then increase or accumulate, for it is some time before we can return any service. … -
“Mathematical Analysis is... the true rational basis of the whole system of our positive knowledge.”
System of positive polity(1852) | Bk. 1, chap. 1; as cited in: Robert Edouard Moritz . Memorabilia mathematica; or, The philomath's quotation-book , (1914), p. 224
Auguste Comte on Life
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“The object of all true Philosophy is to frame a system which shall comprehend human life under every aspect, social as well as individual. It embraces, therefore, the three kinds of phenomena of which our life consists, Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions.”
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“There are three successive states of morality answering to the three principal stages of human life; the personal, the domestic, and the social stage.”
A General View of Positivism(1848, 1856) | p. 104
Auguste Comte on Mind
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Attributed to Auguste Comte:
“Know yourself to improve yourself.”
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“The first condition of unity is a subjective principle; and this principle in the Positive system is the subordination of the intellect to the heart: Without this the unity that we seek can never be placed on a permanent basis, whether individually or collectively. It is essential to have some influence sufficiently powerful to produce convergence amid the heterogeneous and often antagonistic tendencies of so complex an organism as ours.”
p. 24
Auguste Comte on Politics
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“The dead govern the living.”
Le Catéchisme positiviste (1852) -
Attributed to Auguste Comte:
“Demography is destiny.”
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“Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology: why should they be allowed to think freely about political philosophy ?”
As quoted in A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations (1991) by Alan Lindsay Mackay -
“Foreknowledge is power .”
As quoted in A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations (1991) by Alan Lindsay Mackay
Auguste Comte on Virtue
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Attributed to Auguste Comte:
“Live for others.”