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The Conservative Reaction

The Conservative Reaction. Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Background Catholic at the wrong time. Opposed to the Revolution. Social order paramount. Ecole Polytechnique: Military efficiency and preeminence of science. Liked the school. Expelled for anti-Enlightenment beliefs.

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The Conservative Reaction

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  1. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Background • Catholic at the wrong time. • Opposed to the Revolution. • Social order paramount. • Ecole Polytechnique: Military efficiency and preeminence of science. • Liked the school. • Expelled for anti-Enlightenment beliefs. • Secretary to Saint-Simon (1817). • Similar beliefs about society. • Comte preferred more positivist approach.

  2. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Background • Breaks with Saint-Simon (1824). • Mental breakdown (1826). • “Cerebral hygiene.” • Ridiculed in scientific community. • Death of Clotilde: Emotion over intellect, feeling over mind. • “Founder of Universal Religion, Great Priest of Humanity.” • The new order: The Positivist Society.

  3. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Intellectual Influences • Social order. • Science of society. • Hobbes, Kant, Saint-Simon. • Empirical approach to society • Observe structure and function to predict future events. • Critical of Enlightenment individualism.

  4. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Intellectual Influences • Pascal: Continuity of history. • Turgot: Three stages of history. • Montesquieu: Laws of society. • Condorcet: Progress through science. • Use science to understand the laws of society. • Use science to predict the future of society. • Apply science to directing society. • de Bonald and de Maistre: Negative reaction to the French Revolution: Need to restore order.

  5. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Intellectual Influences • The tradition of order: • Social contracts did not work. • Men had duties, not rights. • Society perfects man. • The tradition of liberalism • Laissez faire economics (Adam Smith) is a system conducive to anarchy. • Division of labor, on the other hand, awakens social cooperation.

  6. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Coined term: Sociology. • The “social physics” of society. • Reject metaphysics and theology. • Science should intervene for the betterment of society. • Positivism: study society in the same manner as the natural sciences: • Natural laws. • Objective observation.

  7. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Law of three stages • Theological: Rule by religion. • Metaphysical: Rule by mystics. • Positive: Reason, observation, natural laws of society that can predict future events. • Research Methods • Observation. • Experimentation. • Comparison. • Historical.

  8. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Social Statics (“anatomy”) • Social structure. • Unit of observation is individual. • Processes that hold society together. • Humans must cooperate with one another. • Government functions for the benefit of the whole. • Subordination to government is necessary to achieve consensus.

  9. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Social Statics (“anatomy”) • Consensus universalis. • Necessary for solidarity. • Foundation for the division of labor. • Importance of the family for maintaining consensus and social solidarity.

  10. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Social Dynamics (“physiology”) • Social change. • Progress through science. • Change is evolutionary. • Dynamic equilibrium of alterations within the rule of government and social order. • Change came about as a result of a need to refine structure to adapt to new needs in society.

  11. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Hierarchy of the Sciences • Mathematics.* • Astronomy. • Physics. • Biology. • Chemistry. • Sociology: The queen of the sciences. • Sociology is the most complex of the sciences.

  12. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Division of Labor • Creates solidarity. • Tasks suitable to talents. • Parts function for the benefit of the whole. • Religion of Humanity • Religion contributes to social stability. • Need to move away from theocracy. • Positive religion: Humanistic approach. • The “new clergy” were sociologists.

  13. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Race, Class, Women • Romanticized the working class. • Positivism over communism: • Positivism focused on morals. • Positivism encouraged individuality. • Positivism esteems leaders of industry. • Positivism encourage inheritance to provide historical continuity. • Women’s “affectional” component was a critical piece of positivism: order over self.

  14. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Language • Binds us to one another. • Promotes unity. • Allows for interaction. • Continuity of traditions. • Without language, solidarity, consensus, and social order would be impossible.

  15. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Concepts and Contributions • Theory • Necessary for observation. • Ideas guide science. • Science guides society. • Organic Analogy • Society is like a living organism. • The advancement of the organism through the three stages (for individuals and societies) is a progression of ideas.

  16. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Relevancy • “Sociology.” • Functionalism. • Laws of society. • Positivism: the importance of scientific methods. • Social statics and social dynamics. • Focus on the practical applications of science. • Focus on macro-structures gives Comte’s sociology a strong historical perspective. • Last Line: Focus on his science, ignore his advocacy as the “Great Priest of Humanity.”

  17. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Philosophy • Realism vs. Idealism • Realism, because he believed • that society had laws that could • be discovered. • Realism vs. Nominalism • Realism, because Comte believed that abstract ideas, such as “social contract,” were real in their consequences.

  18. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Philosophy • Idealism vs. Materialism • Idealist in noting the importance • of language in forming social • relationships. • Materialist in focus upon the functional imperatives of society.

  19. The Conservative Reaction Auguste Comte (1798-1857) • Contemporary Issues • Strong federal government • Preeminence of scientific over value-based explanations. • Separation of church and state. • Policy guided by values, but not by blunders. • Most likely a democrat rather than a republican.

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