A presentation of the life & work of A. Comte & an evaluation of his contributions to sociol in relation to their development in more recent sociol'al literature. The following subjects are discussed & analyzed: (1) the internal dynamics of Comte's psychic condition in relation to his achievements; (2) Comte's contributions toward the founding of a sci'fic sociol (positivism); (3) Comte's work in the classification of the sci's & his positing of the inextricable connection between them; (4) the law of the 3 stages-theological, metaphysical & positive-& its relation to the sociol of sci & the SofK; (5) Comte's pioneering insights into the SofK-taken in itself & in relation to the work of K. Marx, M. Scheler & E. Durkheim; (6) Comte's contributions to & insights into comparative history & soc change; (7) the formulations of society as organism & system & of the relationshi between social structure ('Statics') & soc change ('Dynamics') (8) Comte's ideas on the relationship between psychol ('cerebral biology') & sociol & their relevance to S. Freud's; (9) his vision of the Religion of Humanity in which positivist priests were to interpret the doctrine of love, order, & progress through educ & preaching; (10) his res methodology of observation, experiment & comparison. The major thesis is that sociol still owes an everlasting debt to Comte which needs to be re-evaluated at important turning points in sociol's orientation & consequently that an analysis of the implications of his theories is still a required task in today's perspective. R. J. Rosen.
