Comte was an exceptionally bright and gifted child, graduating from the Montpellier Lycee at 14. He then studied mathematics and entered the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris when he was only 16. After a confrontation at school, Comte returned to Montpellier and studied biology at the medical school there. He returned to Paris in 1816 and wrote for various periodicals, but is was not until 1822 that his first major work appeared, Prospectus of the Scientific Worlds for the Reorganization of Society. He began lecturing on his "Positive Philosophy" and attracted an eminent following which included Fourier, Poinsot and von Humboldt, to name but a few. In 1827, in a moment of depression, he attempted suicide by jumping into the Seine, but was rescued. By 1829, he was again lecturing and in 1832 was appointed Repetiteur of Analytical Mathematics at the Polytechnique. In 1837, he became the admissions examiner. Between 1830 and 1842, Comte published the three volumes of his Positive Philosophy. Three additional volumes dedicated to Social Science were also produced during this time. Comte is credited with inventing the term Sociology. His other works include Positivist Catechism (1852), System of Positive Polity (1854), Subjective Synthesis (1856) and his Testament (1884 posthumous). |
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