A General View of Positivism: Or, Summary exposition of the System of Thought and LifeComte, Auguste
Philosophy
A General View of Positivism: Or, Summary exposition of the System of Thought and Life
Comte, Auguste
Positivism
Without discussing these chimerical schemes in detail, it will be well
to expose the errors inherent in the method of reasoning which leads to
them, because they are common to all the other progressive schools, the
Positivist school excepted. The mistake consists in the first place,
in disregarding or even denying the natural laws which regulate social
phenomena; and secondly, in resorting to political agencies where
moral agency is the real thing needed. The inadequacy and the danger
of the various utopian systems which are now setting up their rival
claims to bring about the regeneration of society, are all attributable
in reality to these two closely-connected errors. For the sake of
clearness, I shall continue to refer specially to Communism as the most
prominent of these systems. But it will be easy to extend the bearing
of my remarks to all the rest.
[Individualization of
functions as necessary as
co-operation]
The ignorance of the true laws of social life under which Communists
labour is evident in their dangerous tendency to suppress
individuality. Not only do they ignore the inherent preponderance in
our nature of the personal instincts; but they forget that, in the
collective Organism, the separation of functions is a feature no less
essential than the co-operation of functions. Suppose for a moment
that the connexion between men could be made such that they were
physically inseparable, as has been actually the case with twins in
certain cases of monstrosity; society would obviously be impossible.
Extravagant as this supposition is, it may illustrate the fact that in
social life individuality cannot be dispensed with. It is necessary
in order to admit of that variety of simultaneous efforts which
constitutes the immense superiority of the Social Organism over every
individual life. The great problem for man is to harmonize, as far as
possible, the freedom resulting from isolation, with the equally urgent
necessity for convergence. To dwell exclusively upon the necessity
of convergence would tend to undermine not merely our practical
energy, but our true dignity; since it would do away with the sense
of personal responsibility. In exceptional cases where life is spent
in forced subjection to domestic authority, the comforts of home are
often not enough to prevent existence from becoming an intolerable
burden, simply from the want of sufficient independence. What would
it be, then, if everybody stood in a similar position of dependence
towards a community that was indifferent to his happiness? Yet no less
a danger than this would be the result of adopting any of those utopian
schemes which sacrifice true liberty to uncontrolled equality, or even
to an exaggerated sense of fraternity. Wide as the divergence between
Positivism and the Economic schools is, Positivists adopt substantially
the strictures which they have passed upon Communism; especially those
of Dunoyer, their most advanced writer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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