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1798: Comte's Beginnings
Auguste Comte was born in Montpellier, Hérault on 19 January 1798. He grew up during the wake of the French Revolution, with the ideals of republicanism deeply influencing him. He studied at the Lycee Joffre and later attended the University of Montpellier. -
Admission to Ecole
In 1814, Comte took admission to the Ecole Polytechnique in 1814. When the Ecole closed for reorganization in 1816, he pursued his study at the medical school at Montpellier. However, he did not finish his studies yet he settled in Paris. There,he began earning money by teaching mathematics and journalism. -
Partnership with Saint-Simon
In 1817, he met Henri de Saint-Simon, a social theorist, and became his secretary and collaborator. However, the partnership ended in 1824 due to a dispute of the authorship of their writings. -
Birth of Positive Philosophy
In April 1826, he started delivering lectures as a part of a course of positive philosophy and his audience included well known scientists like Fourier and Poinsot. He later published six volumes of this course titled, “Course of Positive Philosophy” starting in 1830. He introduced the discipline Sociology and divided this subject in two categories - “social statics” and “social dynamics”. -
Classes at Ecole
Starting in 1832, he began teaching analysis and mechanics at the Ecole Polytechnique. -
Loses Job at Ecole
In 1842, Auguste loses his job at Ecole Polytechnique due to a clash with administrators of the institute. -
Lots of Writing
Comte kept himself busy with writing. In 1844, he finished work on his books “Philosophical Treatise on Popular Astronomy” and “Discourse on the Positive Spirit” while remaining busy on writing the “System of Positive Polity”. -
System of Positive Polity
From 1851 to 1854, he was occupied with work on four volumes of “System of Positive Polity”. Through this work he expressed his unique views on democracy -
Death and Legacy of Comte
On September 5, 1857 Auguste Comte passed away due to stomach cancer in Paris. His many works had vast influence on renowned social thinkers like Karl Marx and George Eliot to a great extent. His concept of social evolutionism acted as a great inspiration for the development of modern academic sociology. -
List of Works
Auguste Comte, Cours de philosophie positive, leçons 46–51, Paris: Hermann, 2012. Freely translated and condensed by Harriet Martineau: The positive philosophy of Auguste Comte, London: J. Chapman, 1853. Parsons (1961). Discours sur l’ensemble du positivisme, Paris: Mathias; reprinted, Paris: Garnier Freres, 1998 (introduction to 1851, published separately). Translated as: General View of Positivism, London: Trubner, 1865.
