COMTE, AUGUSTE

(1798-1857) French philosopher who founded positivism . Wrote Cours de philosophie positive (6 vol.). Society goes through three stages: theological stage where everything is attributed to supernatural beings (highest form is monotheism ); metaphysical stage where everything is attributed to abstract forces; scientific or positive stage where laws or relationships of phenomena are clearly known. This third stage has a positive social order (stressing orderliness and progress) and positive religion (worship directed not to God but to humanity).