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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010
Only he who has learned everything is nowhere a stranger; robbed of his fortune and without friends, he is yet the citizen of every country, and can fearlessly despise the changes of fortune.
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Secondo CommentarioThis second volume of Comte's biography has examined approximately ten years of his life, from 1842 to 1852, focusing on the transformation of his positive philosophy into a religious and political movement. It has shown that he became more confident about his philosophy, renaming the Cours de philosophie positive the Système de philosophie positive and more regularly referring to this belief system as “positivism” to compete with the other isms of the age. At the same time, he was not content with the achievement represented by this great work, which set the foundations of not only a new philosophy but also sociology and the history of science. He saw his life's work as incomplete. The regeneration of society necessitated more than a scientific and philosophical treatise; it required a moral revolution that would usher in a political revolution. Like Saint-Simon, Comte believed that politics reflected current morality and that both ultimately expressed the reigning philosophy of the times. The Cours, in his mind, laid the foundation of a moral system based on demonstrable principles. It even outlined his ideas of a new spiritual power that would help regenerate society through education. But he worried that the Cours might be misunderstood, adding to the “positivity” or scientism of the day, which neglected social needs.
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