About the author…

August Comte (1798-1857), a founder of sociology, believes aspects of our world can be known solely through observation and reason. Although he rejects the existence of theoretical entities, he believes all explanation and prediction are based on lawful succession—not causality, for he thought causality was not reducible to observation. In his view, each of the individual sciences has unique features and, just like social processes, pass through three stages: the theological based on supernatural powers, the metaphysical based on abstract ideas, and the positive (or scientific) based on relationships among empirical facts. His development of positivism not only interested J. S. Mill but also influenced the development of twentieth century logical positivism.