The 80 great famous phrases of Auguste Comte

auguste comte He was a famous French philosopher born in the year 1798 in the magnificent city of Montpellier.

This philosopher is commonly known for being the father of Positivism and Sociology, two great intellectual currents in which we should all be much more interested than perhaps we have been until now.

• It may interest you: "The 25 best phrases of Ludwig Wittgenstein"

Great famous quotes by Auguste Comte

Currently, a bust of this great philosopher presides over the well-known Sorbonne square, located in the very city of Paris.

Do you want to know the best phrases of him? Below you will find 67 great phrases by Auguste Comte, perhaps one of the most interesting French philosophers of all time.

1. Love as the beginning, order as the basis, progress as the end.

This phrase gives us wise advice that we should definitely internalize.

2. Much more than interest, it is pride that divides us.

Pride can bring us serious damage in our personal lives, we must know how to put it aside.

3. The heavens proclaim the glory of Kepler and Newton.

Thanks to the knowledge of these two great scientists, it was possible to understand the universe and the forces that move it.

4. Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is the key that will allow us to achieve success in everything we set out to do.

5. To know in order to foresee, in order to be able.

Thanks to knowledge, we can come to foresee certain future events.

6. There is only one absolute maxim and that is that there is nothing absolute.

Everything in life depends on the prism from which we observe it, something that seems irrefutable, may actually not be.

7. Only good feelings can unite us; interest has never forged lasting unions.

For a relationship to be able to last over time, it has to be 100 percent honest on both sides.

8. What an irreparable loss!

Some ills are simply impossible to repair.

9. Thus, the true positive spirit consists, above all, in seeing in order to anticipate, in studying what is, in order to conclude from it what will be, according to the general dogma of the invariability of the laws natural.

With the power of knowledge we will be able to predict events and how they will unfold over time.

10. Women live in perpetual childhood.

Women were, in Auguste Comte's time, deprived of being able to develop intellectually, just like a man would.

11. A woman without tenderness is a social monstrosity of nature; even more than a worthless man.

Men and women possess certain intrinsic qualities, which largely define us as individuals.

12. The dead rule the living.

Throughout history, as a society we have always been governed by laws or regulations dictated by people who are no longer with us.

13. To understand a science it is necessary to know its history.

Knowing how a science was created and developed will allow us to execute it in a much more correct way.

14. What is essential for happiness is complete dignity in feeling, even in pain.

Although life puts obstacles in our way, we must always remain faithful to our principles.

15. Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology: why should I allow them to think freely about political philosophy?

The society in which we live always tries to manipulate us as individuals, even turning us into mere tools to be used.

16. The explanation of the facts, now reduced to their real terms, consists in the establishment of a relationship between various particular phenomena and a few general facts, which diminish in number with the progress of science.

The scientific method is always based on an exhaustive analysis of the facts, in this way it is possible to find the truth.

17. Social philosophy must, therefore, in all respects, be prepared by nature itself, first inorganic and then organic.

The different types of philosophy can come to be shown in question with each other, establishing a consensus between the two can sometimes be somewhat complicated.

18. Living for others is not only a law of duty, but also a law of happiness.

Contributing with our grain of sand in society, you can make it a much better one with the passage of time.

19. No one has more right than to do their duty.

Some duties we must fulfill for a greater common good, we must contribute to society if we want it to support us.

20. Love cannot be deep, if it is not pure.

Pure love is the only one that is true. If a love does not preserve its purity, it is not love, it is interest.

21. For the soul, religion constitutes a normal consensus exactly like that of health for the body.

Religion can allow us to reach a greater spiritual understanding, since the concept of soul and that of religion clearly feed each other.

22. True taste never exists without disgust.

Real pleasure can never come from the evil suffered by a third person.

23. Morality consists in making sympathetic instincts prevail over selfish impulses.

We must live our life in such a way that every night we can sleep peacefully.

24. Superior in love, more willing to subordinate intelligence and activity to feeling, women spontaneously constitute intermediate beings between humanity and men.

Undoubtedly a very particular concept of understanding women themselves, but it is also undoubtedly true that women have certain qualities that men lack.

25. Progress is nothing more than the development of order.

A well organized society, he will be able to progress more effectively with the passage of time.

26. Know how to predict to be able.

When we are able to anticipate something, we can use that event in our own favor.

27. Everything is relative, that is the only absolute principle.

We must learn that life does not always have a single way of understanding or living.

28. Progress is the law of human history, and man is in a constant process of evolution.

With the passage of time, human beings are managing to achieve goals that we had never imagined.

29. It is not always possible or convenient to suspend judgment.

Some things, the sooner they happen the better, because the sooner they will be forgotten.

30. To progress is to keep improving.

Progress is something that develops over time and always maintaining great perseverance in what we do.

31. All human education must prepare everyone to live for the other, to be able to live in the other.

For a society to function properly, we must learn to live in a community knowing that our daily actions can affect our neighbor.

32. We get tired of acting and even thinking, but we never get tired of loving.

Love is something that we all always seek during our lives, a feeling that only those who have experienced it can understand.

33. Time corresponds to regulating the present, from the future, valuing the past.

Our actions in the present are influenced by our past and will largely determine our future.

34. There is no society without government, just as there is government without society.

Every society needs a stable government in order to function normally.

35. Men always forget that human happiness is a disposition of the mind and not conditions of circumstances.

It depends exclusively on our mind and the desire we have to be happy, the power to become so.

36. To prolong our life indefinitely in the past and the future, to make it more perfect in the future. present, is abundant compensation for the illusions of our youth that are already gone for always.

We must learn to live in the moment, because the present moment is the only one we really have.

37. The word "positive" designates the real, as opposed to the chimerical: in this aspect it fully suits the new spirit philosophical, characterized as well as constantly dedicated to the investigations truly accessible to our intelligence.

Positivism teaches us that knowledge can only come from our experiences, which we can verify by the famous scientific method.

38. The habit of submission constitutes the first condition of the human order.

For the human being to live in a certain order, we must submit for the common good.

39. Studying the development of human intelligence, I believe I have discovered a great basic law, to which intelligence is subjected with an impossible necessity to vary. each of our main conceptions, each branch of our knowledge, necessarily passes through three different theoretical stages: the theological (or fictitious) stage; the metaphysical (or abstract) stage; and the scientific, or positive stage.

As we can see, Comte investigated a large number of different topics, in this case he makes a very accurate theory about the functioning of human intelligence.

40. Our art of observing is made up, in general, of three different procedures: first, observation proper, that is, direct examination of the phenomenon as it naturally occurs; second, experimentation, that is, contemplation of the phenomenon more or less modified by artificial circumstances that we expressly insert looking for a more perfect exploration, and third, comparison, that is, the gradual consideration of a series of analogous cases in which the phenomenon is simplified each time. further.

In this quote we clearly see the scientific method and how it should be applied. A certain way of acting that can be very useful in our day to day.

41. From here come three types of philosophies or general conceptual systems about the set of phenomena that are mutually exclusive. The first is a necessary starting point for human intelligence; the third is its fixed and definitive stage; the second is simply a transition stage.

In order to reach any conclusion, we must always go through a certain process, without this process, we could never have reached that conclusion.

42. The main means to realize this will be the formation of an alliance between philosophers and the classes. workers, for which both are prepared by the negative and positive progress of the last five centuries. The direct object of their combined action will be to set in motion the force of Public Opinion.

Philosophers can have a great influence on the society in which they live, since throughout history they have always revealed themselves as people to be reckoned with.

43. Thus the social position of women is in this respect very similar to that of philosophers and the working classes.

Women were seen by this famous philosopher as very close to himself, as he felt that he had a great connection with them.

44. 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 we seek can never be permanently placed, either individually or collectively. It is essential to have some influence powerful enough to bring about convergence in the midst of the heterogeneous and often antagonistic tendencies of an organism as complex as ours.

Our feelings are the ones that govern our life to a greater or lesser extent, since they ultimately determine our daily actions.

45. It establishes, as is generally known, that our speculations on all subjects necessarily pass through three successive stages: a theological stage, in which free play is given to spontaneous fictions that do not admit evidence; the metaphysical stage, characterized by the prevalence of abstractions or personified entities; Finally, the Positive stage, based on an exact vision of the real facts of the case.

In this quote, Comte tells us about these three stages, which he defines one by one, showing us his particular way of seeing and understanding the scientific method.

46. Mathematical analysis is... The true rational basis of the entire system of our positive knowledge.

Mathematical analysis can allow us to achieve the necessary knowledge about something, in order to later draw a conclusion.

47. It was under Catholic feudalism that they were first united; a union for which their incorporation into the Roman Empire had prepared them, and which was finally organized by the matchless genius of Charlemagne.

Charlemagne was always a great source of inspiration in the life of this famous French philosopher.

48. A common monetary standard will be established, with the consent of the various governments, through which industrial transactions will be greatly facilitated. Three spheres made respectively of gold, silver, and platinum, and each weighing fifty grams, would differ sufficiently in value for the purpose. The sphere should have a small flattened base, and the positivist motto will be inscribed on the large circle parallel to it.

Comte had great ideas to be able to organize society according to his positivist ideas.

49. And now I have explained the series of social and intellectual conditions by which the discovery of sociological laws, and in Consequently, the foundation of positivism was fixed for the precise date on which I began my philosophical career: that is, a generation after the progressive dictatorship of the Convention, and almost immediately after the fall of the retrograde tyranny of Bonaparte.

In this quote we can discover how this famous philosopher did not agree with the ideas of another great historical figure, Napoleon Bonaparte.

50. The goal of all true philosophy is to frame a system that understands human life in all aspects, both social and individual. It covers, therefore, the three types of phenomena in which our life consists, thoughts, feelings and actions.

Our thoughts, feelings, and actions effectively make up the totality of our life's experiences. These three factors decide how we will develop within the society in which we live.

51. After Montesquieu, Condorcet made the next great addition to Sociology (which is the term that comes to mind). he can allow himself to invent to designate Social Physics), following the opinions suggested by his illustrious friend Turgot.

As the father of Sociology, this philosopher closely followed the advances that occurred in it over time.

52. However, now that we have successfully passed from monarchy to republicanism, the name communist is no longer indispensable; the word republican expresses the meaning also, and without the same danger. Positivism, then, has nothing to fear from communism; on the contrary, it will probably be accepted by most communists among the working classes, especially in France, where abstractions have little influence on minds completely emancipated from the theology.

The ideas of this philosopher clashed head-on with those of the young anarchists and communists sons of the French Revolution.

53. Any attempt to refer chemical questions to mathematical doctrines must be considered, now and always, profoundly irrational, as contrary to the nature of phenomena... but if the use of mathematical analysis were to become so prevalent in chemistry (an aberration which is happily almost impossible) it would cause a vast and rapid regression...

Chemistry and mathematics have completely different ways of working, even going as far as the way in which these two great disciplines are studied, since each one has its own and unique language.

54. But the misuse of the intellectual or practical faculties cannot even be recognized, much less correct itself, without the help of affection, which is the only part of our nature that suffers directly from such mistakes.

Our personal relationships encourage us to continue with our studies, living a comfortable life allows us to be more efficient in our work.

55. All classes, therefore, must be under the influence of women.

The woman has always been and she will always be, present in all social and economic classes of society

56. They all require constant reminding of the great truth that reason and activity are subservient to feeling.

Our feelings are what ultimately lead us to perform a certain action.

57. The feeling, when it is pure and deep, corrects its own mistakes.

If we have realized that something we did in the past was not right, we must correct it as soon as possible and apologize.

58. Therefore, whenever the philosopher or people deviate from duty, it will be part of the women to protest with them gently and remind them of the true social principles entrusted to their charge special.

As we know very well behind any man, there was always a great woman.

59. If they are men worthy of their mission, they will be aware of the tendency that their lives have to harden them and lead them to useless speculation.

Everything in life seems to be much more difficult the first time we do it, as the saying goes: if something can go wrong, it will surely go wrong.

60. The errors of communism must be rectified; but there is no need to give up the name, which is a simple affirmation of the paramount importance of Social Feeling.

Communism is a political current that was very well thought out during its conception by its most famous thinkers. Some as well known as Karl Marx or Friedrich Engels.

61. People will gradually find that the solution to the great social problem offered by positivism is better than the communist solution.

Comte harbored the hope that in time, society would adopt Positivism as its main political current.

62. On the post would be the image of the immortal Charlemagne, the founder of the Western Republic, and around the image would be engraved his name, in its Latin form, Carolus; that name, respected by all the nations of Europe alike, would be the common denomination of the universal monetary standard.

The great Charlemagne will always be a great source of inspiration for a large number of people, as King of the Franks he was the maximum expression of what every Frenchman can become.

63. Reorganization, independent of God or the king, by the cult of humanity, adopted systematically.

Religion and the monarchy should not have control of society, this control should only belong to its own citizens.

64. The Intellect must always be the servant of the Heart, and must never be its slave.

We must know how to temper our hearts with our thoughts, our emotions should never have total control of our lives.

65. Language forms a kind of wealth, which can be used by all at once without causing any diminution of the store, and which therefore admits of a whole community of enjoyment; for everyone, freely participating in the general treasury, unconsciously helps in its preservation.

Language allows people to communicate effectively with each other, thereby creating a sense of community.

66. The mathematical terminology created by Fourier may tempt us to expect that, as he has estimated, the temperature of the space in which we move, with time it can determine the average temperature of the celestial bodies: but I consider this order of facts as always. excluded from our recognition. We can never learn their internal constitution, nor, with respect to some of them, how heat is absorbed by their atmosphere.

In this quote Auguste Comte tells us about Joseph Fourier, a great mathematician from whom we could also extract great wisdom.

67. Therefore, we can define astronomy as the science by which we discover the laws of geometric and mechanical phenomena presented by celestial bodies.

Astronomy is a wonderful science that can explain the operation of the planets and other celestial bodies that move through the vast universe.

68. Know yourself to improve.

The only way we can manage to be someone of benefit.

69. Demographics is destiny.

Although his main area of ​​knowledge was philosophy, he was a great promoter of sociological studies, not in vain, he coined the term.

70. Ideas rule the world, or throw it into chaos.

Everything is possible thanks to ideas, both the best and the worst.

71. If it is true that all theory must be based on observed facts, it is equally true that facts cannot be observed without the guidance of some theory.

Both realities feed off each other.

72. The word 'right' should be excluded from the language of politics, like the word 'cause' from the language of philosophy.

Both philosophy and politics were some of the areas in which he made great intellectual contributions.

73. Indeed, all true science has as its object the determination of certain phenomena by means of others, according to the relations that exist between them.

One of the most accurate definitions of science that we can find.

74. All science consists in the coordination of facts; if the different observations were entirely isolated, there would be no science.

Science requires constant interrelated verifications to be considered as such.

75. The only real life is the collective life of the race; individual life has no existence except as an abstraction.

As a philosopher, he always put special interest in the study of sociological or socially shared phenomena.

76. Each knowledge department goes through three stages. The theoretical stage; the theological stage and the metaphysical or abstract stage.

The approaches of this great thinker were key to the development of science and sociology.

77. Nothing is destroyed until it is replaced.

When we replace something we have already lost it forever.

78. Reorganize society without God or King, for the systematic culture of Humanity.

A longing for which he based his life.

79. Woman is the most moral element in all humanity.

An example of the opinion that this French philosopher had about women.

80. All good intellects have repeated, since Bacon's time, that there can be no real knowledge except that which is based on observed facts.

Like any philosopher, his doctrine adopted the insights of some of his predecessors.