Positivism was a theoretical current created by the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) who argued that the rule for progress social would be the discipline and the order, what influenced the utilitarian moral theory of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Stuart Mill reformulated the first utilitarianism founded by his teacher, philosopher and jurist Jerehmy Bentham.
In Brazil, Comte's political positivism, renewed by the utilitarian moral charge, influenced the politics practiced in the early years of the First Republic (1889-1930), due to the positivist references brought by the military and by the first president, Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca.
History of Positivism and 19th Century Sociology
18th and 19th century Europe saw significant changes that resulted from intense revolutions. It is not surprising that intense changes and revolutions result in crises. The 19th century was marked by intense crises.
In England, industries grew at full steam, which resulted in the disorderly growth of cities. The sudden population explosion of these places was the main factor in the unfolding of a crisis that had inequality as its center. social: thousands of unemployed and homeless, people starving and dying of disease, in addition to factory workers not having guaranteed rights, which was expressed by inhumane working hours and low pay.
France went through a troubled post-revolution period, because, for a while, there was no government that guaranteed social and political order. All of this happened at the same rate that techniques and sciences advanced, which left European intellectuals at the time confused.
Auguste Comte presented a proposal for a way out of the crises experienced:the creation of Sociology to understand society and a theory that explained progress scientific and determined the way people acted.
The philosopher and founder of Positivism drew a fine line between development moral and scientific of society. Creating a hierarchy of what he called the Great Sciences, the thinker saw Biology and Sociology as the two great pillars of humanity's scientific progress.
Scientific advance should be tied to advance morals for the progress of humanity, which would only be achieved through order and discipline. In the midst of this and to explain the need for positivism, the philosopher formulated the Law of the Three States , a theory that classified three great moments of human development:
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Status theological: a mystical moment, when thehuman being believed in gods and mythological beings and credited these supernatural beings with all responsibility for creating and maintaining the world.
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Metaphysical state :period started with the emergence of Philosophy , in which mythological explanations were no longer so accepted, giving rise to the need forlogical and rational arguments to formulate theories about the world.
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Positive state: according to Comte, this was the inaugural stage in his time, when human beings began to seek the foundation of their theories in observation and empirical work with nature , strengthening the sciences and strengthening the search for explanations about nature in nature itself. Science would be charged with operating this quest, carrying forward themarch to progress .
Also read :The Birth of Modern Science
History, as the study of what humanity had already done, would not be excluded from positivist theory. Along with it, Sociology and a historiographical theory would also be born. The historiography positivist, based on the ideas of the French philosopher Conde de Saint Simon (1760 -1825), understands that there is a progress constant da humanity, which would never regress, but would tend to be kept evolving.
The term positivism appears in other areas of knowledge, such as in Law and Analytical Philosophy developed in the Vienna Circle (philosophers of language), as positivism logical and, in the case of Law, positivism legal or juspositivism. These theories, despite carrying the title “positivism” in their names, have no direct relationship with sociological positivism by Auguste Comte.
Characteristics of Positivism
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Doctrine philosophical: as a continuation of the Enlightenment, the political and scientific inspiration of positivism lay in Enlightenment ideals. The aspirations of early Enlightenment philosophers to reach a stage of moral development in society were maintained. However, a new way of acting was necessary to guarantee the social order, destabilized after the French Revolution.
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Doctrine sociological: In order to guarantee social order, positivism acts as a doctrine that, based on sociological studies, serves as a basis for people's social and moral behavior. The Tri-State Law would be at the top of this chain of societal development.
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Doctrine policy: discipline, rigor and social order were political requirements to guarantee social progress from a positivist perspective.
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Development das sciences and techniques :social progress would be closely linked to intellectual, scientific and technological progress. The idea of a secular, universal and free school, which had already gained some space during the Enlightenment, came to be defended more strongly by positivist intellectuals.
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Religion positive: Comte understood that humanity needed relationships of devotion. Devotion – before based on faith in God or the gods –, in positivism, gives way to faith in science as the only trustee of humanity, giving rise to scientism, characterized by the unconditional commitment to science as the total source of true knowledge.
Positivism in Brazil - “Order and Progress”
The First Republic in Brazil, which began in 1889, with the deposition of D. Pedro II, was a period strongly influenced by positivism, especially at its beginning. Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca , the first president, and the military of a social circle that became influential in Brazil, mainly after the Paraguay War, were republicans.
“Order and Progress”, the motto stamped on the Brazilian flag has positivist inspiration.
National symbols, such as the Brazilian flag and the Anthem to the Flag, emerged in the period of positivist influence. The phrase engraved in the center of the flag, “order and progress” , attests to such influence, which imposes the need for political and social order and values freedom individual (which carries with it the moral responsibility of acting).