positive philosophy (Doctrine de Saint Simon, par Hippoly te Carnot, 1829).—It was under the influence of Saint Simon that Auguste Comte produced his first important work: Plan des travaux scientifiques pour réorganiser le société (1822).
B. Auguste Comte (1798–1857).
Comte was a student at the polytechnic institute in Paris. But when this was closed by the Bourbons on account of the revolutionary ideas still prevalent there, he continued his studies privately, at the same time giving them an encyclopedic character, to which his association with Saint Simon contributed. This association came to an end because, according to Comte's opinion, the master wanted to subordinate sciences too completely to his reformatory ideas. Comte then carried forward his encyclopedic exposition of positive philosophy with marvellous energy and concentration. During the years of his life his reflections assumed a more subjective and mystical character, so that he regarded himself as the founder of a religion of humanity and even instituted a kind of worship.
a. Our modern civilization is suffering,—and on this point Saint Simon and Comte agreed,—from an excess of critical and revolutionary spirit. There is a lack of fellowship in the mode of thought and sentiment, and hence also in cooperation towards common ends. Society, under the old order of things, had a common foundation in theology. Now positive science is the only thing which can serve as such a foundation. There must be a thought structure erected which can speak with the same authority as the special sciences within their respective spheres. History reveals the fact that there is an
