Auguste Comte and Consensus Formation in American Religious Thought—Part 1: The Creation of Consensus
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 8
Abstract
French intellectual Auguste Comte was the most influential sociologist and philosopher of science in the Nineteenth Century. This first of two articles summarizes his complex life’s works and details reactions to them by Transcendentalists and Unitarians, from its American introduction in 1837 until just after the Civil War. Using public speeches and published essays, the article analyzes the ways in which intellectuals supported and criticized Comte’s theories. Because he wrote in such abstract and difficult French, criticisms centered not on the nuances of his work, but more superficially on his alleged atheism. These attacks occur because of a variety of consequences of the Civil War that had little to do directly with Comte’s philosophy. Instead, Comte was a convenient vehicle for expressing anxiety over a modernism that included an accelerated threat against religion posed by technology and science and the emerging dominance of that secular knowledge in universities. The second article will analyze Comte’s influence on later Transcendentalists and other post-Unitarian thinkers.
Authors and Affiliations
Kenneth S. Sacks
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25741
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8080147
- Views 344
- Downloads 10
Used Sources of Spiritual Growth for Spanish University Students
Although some research has suggested means of promoting spiritual development in higher education, no systematic studies or literature reviews have been conducted to know what sources are most used for the spiritual gr...
The NERSH International Collaboration on Values, Spirituality and Religion in Medicine: Development of Questionnaire, Description of Data Pool, and Overview of Pool Publications
Modern healthcare research has only in recent years investigated the impact of health care workers’ religious and other moral values on medical practice, interaction with patients, and ethically complex decision-making...
Inter-religious Cooperation for HIV Prevention in Uganda: A Study among Muslim and Christian Youth in Wakiso District
Inter-religious cooperation has been recommended to address various issues for the common good. Muslims and Christians in Uganda are working together on HIV prevention in this spirit. A study was done to compare HIV pr...
Transforming Adverse Cognition on the Path of Bhakti: Rule-Based Devotion, “My-Ness,” and the Existential Condition of Bondage
Early Gaud. ¯ıya Vais.n. ava theologians developed a unique path of Hindu devotion during the 16th century through which an aspirant cultivates a rapturous form of selfless love (prema¯) for Kr . s. n. a, who is re...
The New Indices of Religious Orientation Revised (NIROR): A Study among Canadian Adolescents Attending a Baptist Youth Mission and Service Event
This study explores the properties of the New Indices of Religious Orientation Revised (NIROR) among a sample of 521 Canadian adolescents attending a Baptist youth mission and service event, ranging in age from 12 to 1...