Positivism And Theology

Positivism and Theology

First, we begin referring to historical positivism, which arises as a result of German historicism being expanding, and French positivism at the end of the S.XIX and early S. XX.

Focusing on the concept of positivism, and later on historicism. In this way, we will analyze these two currents to reach an explanation we know as historical positivism.

Positivism

The historiographic current under the name positivism was considered of great relevance in numerous countries, such as France, where one of its great representatives was Auguste Comte.

In this historiographic current we can observe two ways, the scientist, who seeks to carry out a division of science, and psychological, theories based on sociology that deals with research on whether human nature can be verified.

According to Augusto Comte, positivism needs three basic pillars to be able to be carried out: love, progress and order. To these three pillars, in turn, you correspond to human aspects of the human being. Therefore, aspects of the human being are corresponded, such as the actions carried out by themselves, their way of feeling and the thoughts .

The doctrine of Augusto Comte is based on the law called the three stages of thought, which intended to achieve the description of the thought of a human being, analyzed individual.

Through a process, rather slow, a perfected knowledge was reached, which follows the same law.

«This law is that each of our main conceptions, each branch of our knowledge, passes successively through three different theoretical states: the theological or fictional state;the metaphysical or abstract state;The scientific or positive state (.

..) from there are three kinds of philosophy or general systems of conceptions about all the phenomena, which are mutually excluded: the first is the necessary starting point of human intelligence;the third, its fixed and definitive state;The second is only destined to serve as a transition » 

Beginning by referring to the first stage of the law, the one referring to theology (fictional). For Comte, what man was able to achieve through science, he achieved it through the use of religious resources. All this, gave rise to many myogonies and theologies, which, thanks to them, the hegemony of a main god was affirmed. Although Comte uses the term "theological" for this first stage, it would be more accurate to replace it with the term "religious", because the author of positivism thinks more about religious behavior, in the relationship of man with God or with the gods, notIn philosophical speculations about God.

In the second stadium, called metaphysical (abstract), the search for how to explain the nature of things begins, through imprecise, non -modifiable entities and that in turn are considered necessary. In this stadium, reasoning predominates. The metaphysical spirit has served, according to this author, to tear theology in the different forms that refer to knowing. Therefore it is considered a critical and destructive phase. In addition, the intellectual summit of all entities present, in a single, is reached, which is nature. In one, nature.

Finally, the positive (real) stadium, where the maturity of thought is achieved, is the last stage of the development of the spirit of man. Look for how things appear, how phenomena behave, and only interests phenomenal description and regularity. The facts are noted, and tries to formulate laws for its coordination, through different processes, as is the case of observation.