Auguste Comte: Volume 1 An Intellectual Biography
Auguste Comte: Volume 1 An Intellectual Biography by Mary Pickering, published by Cambridge University Press on November 26, 1993, spans 792 pages and is presented in English. This first volume of a planned two-volume intellectual biography delves into the life and ideas of Auguste Comte, the founder of modern sociology and the philosophical movement known as positivism. It offers a reinterpretation of Comte’s early career from 1798 to 1842, highlighting the development of his scientific philosophy against the backdrop of postrevolutionary France.
Readers will find an exploration of the complex interplay between Comte’s ideas and his historical context, including his personal struggles with poverty and mental illness. The book also examines his relationships with notable figures such as Saint-Simon, Guizot, and John Stuart Mill. Pickering presents a nuanced view of Comte, illustrating how his quest for a new social philosophy rooted in science was complicated by his difficulties in personal relationships and his skepticism about the scientific spirit’s capacity to transform society and politics.
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This book constitutes the first volume of a projected two-volume intellectual biography of Auguste Comte, the founder of modern sociology and a philosophical movement called positivism. Volume One offers a reinterpretation of Comte’s “first career,” (1798-1842) when he completed the scientific foundation of his philosophy. It describes the interplay between Comte’s ideas and the historical context of postrevolutionary France, his struggles with poverty and mental illness, and his volatile relationships with friends, family, and colleagues, including such famous contemporaries as Saint-Simon, the Saint-Simonians, Guizot, and John Stuart Mill. Pickering shows that the man who called for a new social philosophy based on the sciences was not only ill at ease in the most basic human relationships, but also profoundly questioned the ability of the purely scientific spirit to regenerate the political and social world.
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