Later, Comte devoted himself to the propaganda of science education and empirical philosophy in the workers' movement. He sympathized with the situation and demands of workers, but opposed the violent struggle of workers and advocated class reconciliation and reformism. In his later years, Comte was completely immersed in fanatical religious feelings and activities, founded humanism and devoted himself to promoting humanism. 1857, Comte died of cancer in Paris.
Comte lived in poverty and pain all his life, and his thoughts were ignored. His main works are: Course of Positive Philosophy (1830 ~ 1842), Introduction to Positive Philosophy (1848), Positive Political System (1847 ~ 1850). (A) the principle of positivism
The core of Comte's positivism philosophy is the principle of positivism. He pointed out that all the essential attributes of positivism philosophy are summarized in the word "positivism". The word positive should contain six meanings: (1) the opposition between reality and fantasy; (2) the opposition between usefulness and uselessness; (3) the opposition between reality and fiction; (4) the opposition between correctness and fuzzy error; (5) the opposition between construction, affirmation and destruction, and negation; (6) the opposition between relative and absolute. Scientific knowledge should be this kind of empirical knowledge, and empirical philosophy is to find the principle of realizing empirical knowledge. Comte's empirical principles can be summarized as follows:
First of all, all scientific knowledge must be based on empirical facts from observation and experiment. Experience is the only source and foundation of knowledge. Scientific knowledge is certain and accurate because it comes from experience. The usefulness of scientific knowledge is also due to this reason. Modern natural science is a model of this kind of knowledge.
Secondly, it is opposed to discussing the essence and first cause of abstraction outside of experience. These questions are all metaphysical. People's cognitive ability can only be limited within the scope of experience, but never reach those metaphysical problems beyond experience. If people spend their energy on these problems, it is a pure reason and a waste of time. The metaphysical problems discussed in traditional philosophy should be ignored and not discussed. Leave these questions to theologians to imagine and metaphysics to make complex arguments.
Third, the relativism principle of knowledge. Human knowledge is only experience, and we can neither know what the essence of these experiences is, nor know how and how they came into being. So knowledge can only be relative knowledge, not absolute knowledge. Man's reason is weak, the means of understanding is incomplete, and he can never reach absolute knowledge. He pointed out that the pursuit of absolute knowledge is always accompanied by the use of theological fiction and metaphysical abstract speculation.
(B) the law comes from experience
Comte emphasized that knowledge comes from experience. He pointed out that there are still some laws between empirical phenomena, and science is to find them correctly. In Comte's view, law is an unchangeable sequential relationship and similar relationship between empirical phenomena, and it is by no means the essence of things. These relationships are invariance, repeatability and stability under the same conditions, such as friction heat generation, combination and decomposition, regeneration and evolution. These are laws, and science is the observation and description of these laws. The purpose of discovering laws is to simplify, that is, to simplify complex phenomena into laws, just like simplifying various gravitational phenomena into laws of universal gravitation.
Comte also pointed out that science is an understanding of laws, but science only explains the existence of laws, but cannot explain why these laws appear. Because the question of "why" belongs to a priori things, people can't know. So science only studies how, not why; Science only describes empirical phenomena and cannot explain why.
(3) Scientific classification
Science itself is an "organism", and specific science is only a department differentiated in the evolution of this organism. Horizontally, all sciences are interrelated and form a unified whole; Vertically, every science has a gradual evolution process, and there is a causal dependence between them. Therefore, scientific knowledge is not a disorderly accumulation of various disciplines, but an organic and unified whole composed of various disciplines. The basic spirit of this science as a whole is the spirit of experience. The spirit of positivism is the basis of unifying all disciplines.
Science is not only a unified whole, but also can be divided into several basic disciplines. Science can be divided into five categories: (1) astronomy. (2) physics. (3) chemistry. (4) biology. (5) sociology. As for mathematics, it is a tool that can be used in various disciplines, ranking first or last in scientific classification.
The arrangement of these five sciences is from simple to complex, from abstract to concrete. The former discipline is the foundation and premise of the latter discipline, and the earlier the former discipline develops; The former subjects are relatively simple, while the latter subjects are more complicated. Comte thinks that his classification conforms to the development of science.
Comte believed that sociology developed at the latest, was the most complicated and concrete, and was not perfect until his time. He hopes to establish an empirical sociology like physics.
These scientific classifications are subjective, but not arbitrary. It is a division within the scope of experience. This division is based on the convenience of research. Comte's scientific classification thought is the general view of people in the19th century on the scientific situation at that time. The important content of Comte's thought is his theory of "three stages of rational development". He thinks this is "a great basic law" that he discovered. The law of "three stages of rational development" tells people that every major viewpoint and every knowledge group, whether individuals or the whole human race, will inevitably go through three different stages, namely, theological stage, metaphysical stage and empirical stage. It can also be called fiction stage, abstraction stage and experience stage respectively. Comte tried to use this theory to explain the historical development of rationality, knowledge, society and even individuals.
The first stage of human rational development is the theological stage. At this stage, human rationality is in the primary stage, but people instinctively use their own rationality to explain the most impossible problem, that is, to explore the origin of everything and the ultimate reason behind the phenomenon, trying to obtain absolute knowledge about the world. Of course, this is impossible. Therefore, people can only use imagination to explain various phenomena in the world. Religious theology is the product of this stage. However, people are not always satisfied with theological explanations. With the progress of science and the accumulation of knowledge, people's rationality has gradually entered the metaphysical stage.
Metaphysical stage is the second stage of rational development, a transitional stage and a theological stage with a new look. At present, human rationality is still pursuing the essence and truth behind all things and phenomena, and pursuing absolute knowledge; However, people use transcendental abstract concepts (entities) to replace supernatural gods, and abstract logical reasoning and empty speculation to replace imagination. At this stage, some dogmatic philosophical systems and theories were formed, which destroyed people's firm belief in theology. However, these theories are only destructive, not constructive, and can only bring people's ideological confusion. This stage was soon replaced by a new one.
The experience stage is the third and highest stage of rational development. At this stage, human rationality has matured. People have completely abandoned theological and metaphysical thinking methods and the pursuit of absolute knowledge. At this stage, people regard scientific research as the basic feature, respect empirical facts, and rely on the power of observation and reason to explain and explain phenomena and discover laws; People regard all knowledge as knowledge about empirical phenomena, which is confirmed by experience. People also realize that knowledge is closely related to people's physical structure and condition, so it is relative.
Comte thinks that this law was first discovered by himself, and points out that the three-stage law of rational development can be proved by the history of human rational development and individual rational development. He believes that from the whole history of human thought development, it can be found that myth originated from the rational imagination of human beings in ancient times and religion was also the product of ancient society; Later, metaphysical thinking mode replaced theological thinking mode, and there appeared an abstract philosophical theory system with different opinions; The development of empirical science since modern times shows that human reason has entered the empirical stage. The development history of human reason follows such a law.
From the perspective of the development of human individual rationality, it also follows the law of three stages: everyone is in the theological stage in childhood, and likes to listen to fairy tales, create myths and like to imagine. In youth, the individual is in the metaphysical stage. At this time, young people have turned to love abstract thinking because they don't believe in myths. They like to get to the bottom of the matter, ask why, ask the essence and decisive force behind the phenomenon, and they are ambitious. When people reach middle age, they have experienced the hardships of life and accumulated life experience. They no longer advocate empty talk and aim high, but prefer to do something concrete, emphasizing experience and observation, and are in the empirical stage. Everyone can clearly experience this fundamental law by reviewing their own history.
The development of various scientific theories also goes through these three stages: the initial stage of scientific development is theological rule, astronomy is astrology, and chemistry is alchemy. In the middle stage, metaphysical thinking is the main idea, and we strive to find abstract material or spiritual entities or motives behind the natural phenomena of experience. Modern science has entered the empirical stage and achieved a series of practical results.
The development of human society has also experienced the above three stages: ancient times is a theological stage. In this society, knowledge is ruled by theology, and politically, it is the theological politics of absolute monarchy. Mid-term is a metaphysical stage, in which scientific knowledge is metaphysical. Politics that talks about abstract principles such as "democracy, equality and freedom" is democratic contract politics. Modern society should be empirical society, science is empirical science, and philosophy is also empirical philosophy. Society is an industrial society, and it is governed by empiricism. When dealing with social problems, people pay attention to observation and pragmatism, and adjust social order with the help of natural science laws. Human society has developed to an advanced stage. So this law is also the law of social development.
Comte's theory of "three stages of rational development" examines the development of human thought and society from a historical perspective and affirms the role of law in it, which is reasonable. He uses human thoughts and rationality to explain the reasons for the development of thoughts, theories and even society. He tried to explain the development history of nature, society and thinking with an unchanging "formula", which must be mechanical copying and subjective fabrication, limited to metaphysical abstract speculation. Comte studied human society and its historical phenomena from the viewpoint of empirical philosophy, and put forward a set of corresponding theories, which he called sociology. Because of this, he is recognized as the founder of western sociology.
Comte's sociology was formed on the basis of criticizing18th century enlightenment thought and utopian socialism thought. He pointed out that these social theories are only in the metaphysical stage, and they are all abstract theories with speculative nature. These theories only start from the abstract principles of "freedom, equality, fraternity", "democracy and liberation"; These theories have contributed to criticizing the feudal society and shaking people's old ideas, but they only play a destructive role and can only bring confusion to people's thoughts, but they can't play a role in building society and establishing a new social order. So there must be a new sociological theory to replace it.
Comte pointed out that just as social theory and physics are essentially the same, physical theory can be divided into dynamics and statics, so sociology can also be divided into social dynamics and statics. Through social statics, we can study the organization and structure of society and their relationships from a static perspective. Social dynamics studies the development process of society from a dynamic perspective.
social statistics
In Social Statistics, Comte put forward the theory of social organism. Society, like biological organisms, is composed of various organs, tissues and elements. Individuals constitute families, and families constitute the cells of society. Class and state are social organizations. But society is more complicated and advanced than biology. The study of statics on society is roughly equivalent to anatomy in biology, and its goal is to study social order. Comte analyzed it from three aspects: individual, family and society.
(1) individuals. The starting point of Comte's sociology is still the theory of human nature Everyone has egoism and altruism, which is necessary for society. Self-interest can promote social development, for example, capitalists develop their own enterprises for benefits, workers work hard for their own lives, and scientists conduct scientific research for their own reputation. Egoism is the first indispensable motive in real social life. Egoism points out the purpose and direction of social activities, while the goal of public interest is derived from the goal of personal interest. If personal interests are stifled, social interests will lose their orientation. Therefore, private property and capital are inviolable. Meanwhile, altruism is also necessary. Society is a society in which groups live in groups. Altruism is the basis for people to form a society and live in harmony. Society should coordinate individual egoism and altruism.
(2) family. Although Comte took the individual as the starting point of his research, he pointed out that the basic unit of society is not the individual, but the family. Family is a social cell, which unites individuals through humanity, emotion and morality. Family is an important form that can make human nature-"self-interest" and "altruism" harmonious. In the family, people's self-interest and altruism can best be reflected in harmony. There are gender relations, parent-child relations and sibling relations in the family. These relationships are based on self-interest, because they love themselves and love each other. There are also obedience relationships in the family: women obey men, children obey their parents, younger generations obey their elders, and members obey their parents. In the family, people's relationship is harmonious and orderly. Education and edification in the family laid the foundation for people to step into society.
(3) society. Family is the epitome of society, and society is an enlarged family. Society consists of classes, strata, social non-governmental organizations and institutions. These are all members of society, and the government and leaders are the parents and supervisors of social order. The relationship between people in society should not only have the spirit of mutual cooperation and friendship, but also have the spirit of obedience: civilians should obey the leaders, and all classes, strata and their organizations should obey the leadership of the government. Only by proceeding from the principles of love and obedience can members of society achieve order and harmony and enjoy universal happiness.
Social dynamics
In Social Dynamics, Comte studied the historical trend and motivation of social change and evolution.
Social organisms, like organisms, are constantly evolving in history. This evolution includes not only the evolution and perfection of human body, but also the progress of human intelligence and morality. There are many factors affecting social progress, including rational, intellectual, moral and religious factors; There are factors such as division of labor and economic cooperation; There are political factors; There are climatic, geographical and ethnic factors; There is also the factor of population growth. But the main factors that play a decisive role in it are rationality and morality. The theory of "three stages of rational development" can also explain the development of society. The development of society is consistent with the development of human rationality: the society adapted to theology is the era of absolute monarchy, metaphysics is the era of administration according to law, and experience is the industrial society. Religion and morality play an important role in social development: religion plays an important role in promoting people's emotional connection and consistency in their beliefs, inspiring people to transcend personal interests and consciously abide by discipline and order. Social division of labor and cooperation also have an impact on social development: social division of labor can enhance people's dependence, but specialization of division of labor can also cause the danger of division and individualism, so it is necessary to strengthen the adjustment and integration functions of society and government.
Comte's statics takes social order as the research object, while social dynamics takes social progress as the research object. These two parts are interdependent whole. Social progress should be orderly, and social order is expressed through social progress; There is no progress without order, and there is no order without progress. So Comte put forward the principles of sociological research: love as the principle, order as the basis and progress as the purpose.
Comte's sociology was put forward in view of the turbulent social situation in France after the Great Revolution. Although religious theology was born in the early stage of human development, it played an important role in stimulating people's emotional connection, advocating altruism, overcoming people's selfishness and maintaining social order after religion came into being. Therefore, Comte believes that in the new empirical society, there is still a religion to maintain social stability and order.
The religion advocated by Comte is humanism. The so-called humanism is a religion about human love. This kind of religion does not worship God and God, but takes people as the object, worships people, and replaces love for God with love for people, which is love for all mankind. Through the worship and love of people, we can purify people's feelings, enrich and illuminate people's thoughts, unite all people, and realize the settlement of various social contradictions and social stability and harmony.
Comte established various systems and rituals for Taoism in his later years, and appointed himself as the leader. He believes that philosophers and sociologists will become priests and workers of Taoism. He built a church and preached in it himself. He compiled a calendar to commemorate a certain human saint every month and week, including Plato, Augustine, Galileo, Newton and so on. His Taoism was once popular in France, Britain and some countries in South America.
Comte's humanism is essentially a utopian fantasy. At that time, the revolutionary struggle against the rising proletariat could only be an anesthetic, which was naturally criticized by Marx and Engels.