The Positive Philosophy Of Auguste Comte Classic Reprint

Author : Auguste Comte
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781333345143
Total Pages : 60 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (451 download)

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Download or read book Social Physics written by Auguste Comte and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2016-08-24 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Social Physics: From the Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte As for more direct inconsistencies, more striking, though less profound, and comprehended within the present times, we see in every sect of the retrograde school a direct opposition to some fun damental part of their common doctrine. Perhaps the only point on which there is now any unanimity in that school is in the consent to break up the very basis of the catholic and feudal system, by surrendering the division between the Spiritual and temporal power; or, what comes to the same thing, acquiescing in the subordination of the Spiritual to the temporal authority. In this respect, the kings are showing themselves as revolutionary as their peoples; and the priests have ratified their own degradation, in catholic countries no less than protestant. If their desire is to restore the old system, their first step must be to unite the innumerable sects which have Sprung out of the decline of Christianity; but every attempt of the sort has failed through the blind and obstinate determina tion of the governments to retain the supreme direction of the theological power, the centralization of which they thus render im possible. N apoleon. Only showed an exaggerated copy, in his violent inconsistencies, of what many princes had done before him: and after his fall, when the sovereigns of Europe united to set up a power in opposition to revolutionary tendencies, they usurped the attributes of the old Spiritual authority, and exhibited the Spectacle of a high council composed of heretic chiefs, and governed by a schismatic prince. After this it was manifestly impossible to intro duce the papal power into the alliance, in any way whatever. Such instances of the postponement of religious principles to temporal convenience are not new; but they Show how the main idea of the old political system has ceased to preponderate in the minds of the very persons who undertook to restore it. The divisions in the retrograde school have been of late apparent under all circumstances, whether of success or defeat. Any temporary success ought to rally all dissentients, in a school which boasts of the unity of its doctrine: yet, through a long course of years we have witnessed successive, and more and more serious schisms among the subdivis ions of the triumphant party. The advocates of catholicism and those of feudality have quarrelled: and the latter have Split into partisans of aristocracy and defenders of royalty. Under the com pletest restored supremacy, the schisms would only break out again, with more violence, through the incompatibility of the existing social state with the old political system. The vague assent to its gen eral principles which is yielded in a speculative sense, must give way in their application; and every practical development must engender further divisions: and this is the scientific description of any theory which is incompatible with the facts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.