Comte his biography

Being a predominantly criticism, it turned out to be an irresistible force. True, the human rights, which were supposed to be put in the foundation of the upcoming creative work, were also proclaimed. But the rights are good as an instrument of struggle - as a combat cry; It is impossible to build a strong social building on them, satisfying the best human requirements.

Rights, only rights, always led and inevitably lead to the development of individualism, and individualism at a low moral level inevitably degenerates into selfishness. In order to create, people must, along with rights, also recognize obligations. Moreover, he is only able to exercise his rights in the proper extent and defend them properly, who recognizes his duties and knows how to fulfill them.

This is an irrefutable truth confirmed by observations. However, it is not surprising that the thinkers who laid out the imprint of their genius throughout the 18th century did not pay due attention to the duties of a person, did not develop those positive principles that should be the basis of a new social order. But is it not an eternal reminder of the responsibilities of the representatives of the old order hypnotized people and turned them into a panwork herd?

Positive principles? But did it not these positive principles have held the masses for centuries in a state of slavery, ignorance, poverty and so on? We do not need your duties and your positive principles! Let his natural freedom and his natural rights be returned to a person - and he will get a job in the best way. So the thinkers inevitably should have thought, and behind them - the leaders of the public coup of the 18th century.

But when the coup was performed, when I had to start organizational work in a broad sense, it was here that the one-sidedness of these, in essence of negative, teachings was discovered. The case of public transformation cannot be limited to destruction. When negative theories have their effects, positive exercises should be replaced - already because, guided only by negative theories, it is impossible to build.

And indeed - not to mention old positive teachings, we see that in the first half of the 19th century a number of thinkers are acting with positive projects of social transformation of mankind. So, we indicate to Saint-Simon, Fourier, Cabe, Auguste Comte; All of them were born at the end of the 18th century, and each of them presented his own project for the reorganization of mankind, each of them warmly preached his utopia.

How, perhaps, another reader will say, - the famous positivist Auguste Comte preached some kind of social utopia? Moreover, he not only preached the social reorganization of society, but even wrote his famous “course of positive positive philosophy” in the interests of such propaganda. Philosophy as a philosophy, science as a science interested it little. Possessing a huge mind, he would no doubt take one of the most outstanding places in the scientific world if he devoted his strength to special science.

But his mind from his youth until the last days was chained to human affairs. Anarchy reigning in the field of thought Anarchy, as a result of the previous development, made an amazing impression on him. He declares her a struggle for a young man, in adulthood he writes two main works that should serve as a support in this struggle, and with the approach of old age is taken for the practical exercise of his positive teaching.

Truly about his life, one can say the words of Alfred de Vigny: "The dream of youth, realized in adulthood." We can find the dream of youthful and reasonable youth, and the way of implementing it in old age is wrong, even ridiculous; But this does not give us the right to deny the complete unity of a person’s life, does not give the right to forcibly divide him into two parts and put one on a philosophical throne, and send the other to a crazy house.

Meanwhile, this is done with the Comte. I will not sin against the truth if I say that such an unreasonable and unjust attitude towards it is explained in most cases with indecision, half -sized or double -haired critics. In the transitional periods of history, when the old system decomposes, and the new one is only yelling, many even from among outstanding minds cannot actually renounce the old culture, although it condemn its foundations.

For such people, Comte as a person and his teaching as a whole will always seem fulfilled by contradictions. They are not averse to recognizing everything that undermines the collapsing system; But they cannot divide the desire to go on a new path. The consistent adherent of the old or new system of life, old or new teachings will be completely different to the controversy. Being a whole person himself, he will see integrity and unity in the teachings and life of the great French positivist.

Of course, this does not oblige him to either completely agree or completely reject the teaching in question.It is one thing to understand the internal connection of a certain number of thoughts and how they developed in the head of a person and what they obliged him, and another, to evaluate these thoughts, separate the grains from the challeries.

The second task, I note here by the way, cannot be the subject of this biography. As for the first, I hope to show that Auguste Comte as a person represented a remarkably whole person, and that the same basic thoughts pass through all his teachings. Then, in order to correctly understand the teachings and personality of Comte, it is necessary to move the very center of gravity of our study.

So far, we will consider it as a philosopher, even, even positive, until then we are not guaranteed from gross errors. Only by putting on a social point of view and considering the contrast as a social reformer, we will be able to cover his whole life and his entire teaching and understand the unity that, contrary to all the walking opinions about him, characterized this extraordinary person.

So we will do. Chapter I. Studies Family. The family, who nourished the great positivist, was an ordinary bureaucratic family - neither rich nor poor. Due to the many prejudices, she could neither arouse the spirit of inquisitiveness in the child, nor inspire him with the aspirations and rules of behavior, somewhat diverging with public routine. Despite the whirlwind of the revolution, shocked all of France, this bureaucratic couple did not feel any need to update.

On the contrary, the old gods have probably become even nicer for her. At least the mother of Comte, according to his own testimony, was an extremely pious and devoted Catholic. Whether she was really religious - it is difficult to say: at that time such people were called religious. The Catholic zeal of the mother was, of course, in direct contradiction with those new aspirations that were soon discovered by the young man of Comte, and then with the new teaching that he began to preach.

Thus, with a certain uncontrolled and obstinacy of both sides, the gap was inevitable; At the same time, both the mother and the son had to suffer a lot from these disagreements, as we will see below. But later, when Comte was passionate about the cult of a woman and when Catholic intolerance seemed to him a synonym for deep faith, he completely reconciled in his thoughts and his heart and considered her one of his three guardian angels.

The following words in “Confession” belonged to this time: “Moral makings switched to me from my delicate and fiery mother. She did not know her life of her high pleasures of the heart that she deserved quite to my poor Rosalia, depriving her of her son’s arms for twenty -two years.” It is very possible that his inconspicuous and at the same time, the sensitive and proud temper, really inherited his own unprofitable and at the same time, really inherited from his mother.

Those feelings that the mother found in Catholic zeal, spilled in a positivist worship in front of his holy clotilda. Nine years old Auguste was given to the Lyceum in Montpellier Interne. From the Catholic-Royalist atmosphere of his native family, he fell into a completely different environment. It is curious that already at this school the boy discovered some features of his moral warehouse.

He had a disgust for any external authority and regulations and obeyed only mental and moral superiority. Comte retained this feature until the end of his days and, one might say, put it on the foundation of his entire social scheme. When the boy had to deal with the director or mentors, generally with representatives of external school discipline, he turned out to be rebellious, embarked on reasoning - what is called with us, lifted up.

With his teachers, he was, on the contrary, completely different: he treated them with reverence and great obedience. Naturally, the former pursued him in every possible way and punished him, and the second defended and defended him. At the same time, Auguste was hardworking, understanding and regarding his knowledge, he always met the expectations of teachers.

Weak and painful in appearance, he kept away from school games; Nevertheless, the comrades loved him; He was always ready to help his comrade: to tell, help, and so on. Of the teachers of Contra, one far from a dihin personality should be noted - pastor Angondra, who taught mathematics at the Lyceum. Possessing extensive philosophical knowledge and rare moral qualities, he had a huge impact on Auguste.

He not only inspired him with a critical attitude to the Catholic and royalist sympathies of his native family, but also lit in him, as the biographer of Robin claims, the flame of a genius, which has not died out since then. Comte treated him with great reverence and devoted one of his last works “subjective synthesis” to him. For fifteen years, August graduated from the Lyceum.

Now he had a direct road to the Polytechnic School, where his mathematical abilities could be developed. But there were accepted young men at least sixteen years old. Therefore, Contu had to wait another year.He remained at the lyceum and helped one often a painful teacher teach mathematics. He performed this new duty brilliantly under the supervision of the most stringent critics. In the year, he kept a verify exam and, having stood one of the first, entered the Polytechnic School in Paris.

This school played a very large role in the whole life of Comte. Let's say a few words about her. Paris Polytechnic is one of the most popular schools in France. She owes this, firstly, to her universal character, being a civil and military school; Secondly - the great number of wonderful people who came out of it, and thirdly - their progressive traditions.

The brainchild of the great French revolution, she retained her spirit. Under the name of the Central School of Public Works, it was established by a Convention in the year for the formation of all kinds of engineers, in which there was a lack in the era of the revolution and the wars caused by it. The development of the programs was entrusted to the famous mathematician Montzhu, and although the school over time was several times undergoing alterations, but its main character did not change.

She prepared young people who wanted to enter one of such higher special institutions, which required a thorough knowledge of mathematics. The course was first adopted a three -year, and then two -year. Pupils were placed in a hostel and used significant public subsidies. Life life has raised and gave rise to many common everyday interests. The students fought together for the right of absence, together rebelled against unloved mentors and so on.

But, besides these, so to speak, household chores, they took an active participation in the political movements of their country from the very founding of the school. Entering school, they swore in devotion to the republic and hatred of absolutism. When the royalists performed their machinations, the polytechnics in the total mass remained faithful to the republican spirit.

At that time, those who discovered an hostile attitude towards the republic were excluded and took part in royalist disturbances. But these were units. The students were not sensitive to the consulate of Napoleon I, to his dictatorship and, finally, to the establishment of the empire. Napoleon wanted to “pull up” the school, began to start military orders there, but scientific and political traditions remained strong and saved the school.