A SKETCH OF THE NOTION OF DECLINE IN AUGUST COMTE. COMMON POINTS WITH THE CORRESPONDING BRENTANIAN NOTION
A SKETCH OF THE NOTION OF DECLINE IN AUGUST COMTE. COMMON POINTS WITH THE CORRESPONDING BRENTANIAN NOTION

Summary/Abstract: Auguste Comte’s theory on the development of the human spirit is interpreted as supporting a vision of linear, crescent movement, directed to achieve a positive stage. Given this, the interpretations in the literature are focused, mainly, on the notion of progress. In this paper, I discuss the notion of decline, the counterpart of the preferred notion, which I consider to be essential for the above-stated pursuit of the human spirit. This notion has received less attention than the positive one of progress, and my goal here is to highlight the strengths and function of the notion of decline, paying attention to similarities that can be established between Comte’s “decline” and the one from the Brentanian theory of the four phases.

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