New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-30
POSITIVISM And RELIGION.

CoMTE's INTEREST IN RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS AND IN
THE SCIENCE OF MORALS.
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR crave your permission to correct the
misapprehension into which the writer OF the review
of Fiske's "Cosmic PhilOsophy"-published In your
issue Of Jan. l9has unwittingy fallen. The passage
TO which particularly refer is ths with regard TO
the bearing Of the COsmic Philosophy on the problems
OF religion and morals which the system Of Comte sets
aside as worthy the attention of scientific thinkers
Mr. Fske remarks that they cannot DO ignored by any
philosophy which seeks 10 establish harmony between
human knowledge and human aspirations"
l. Comic did not ignore religion He spent his life In
dealing with it, His entire systemic de POliqe Positive
devoted the religious problems OF the present day
Mr. smaley, your accomplished London correspondent,
has mentioned in recent letter to THE TRIBUNE the
translation OF this work, which is soon to appear
in England. In ADDITION TO this, Comte COM
posed separate work entitled The Catechism
Of POsitivsm, or Summary Exposition OF the
Universal Religion" II your critic Will refer
to Mr.. ]. s. Mills "Auguse Comte and PostivBm -
English Edition. p. 1S7-he will find this sentence
We therefore only hold that NJ. Comic was justi-
fed in the attempt to develop his philosophy into re-
gion and had realized the essential conditions Of oDe
but that all other religious made better IN proper
ton as in their practical result they are brought to
coincide with that which he aimed at construct
ing" In letter to The Ne1 Englander in 1864
Mr.. Herbert Spencer Gays: al reject utterly his
(Comtes) Religion of Humanity" Even Mr.
Fiske (vOl. 1, p. 261 says when 1t became
necessary for him (Comte) to crown his work by ndi-
eating its relations to religion he Come arrived log
ically enough at Religion OF Humanity" In his sec
ond volume (op 40 ct seq MI Fske goes mo some
propose crtcise but only to mention as showing that
Comte did not ignore religion. welnformed writer
IN The Saturday Recetc for Jan 1876 that Posi-
twists offer new religion to Engshne' ana hence
q
OF and women for religious gatherings for cere-
and celebrate the memory OF the Industrious
dead win all the p2mp ana MAJESTY OF sSeh ha Pd tSny
have made serious attempt to draw picture OF so
destitute OF religion" The very fact that
his critics that COnte dealt extensively with
religion will have doubt, he enough to show that
your fell inadvortentyin s.snatz
q The charge as TO COmte ignoring the problem OF
morals erroneous as that regarding religion;
glance at Comics casshcatloh OF the sciences WIZ SHOW
that the Science Of Morals Is made supreme IN the
hierarchy OF human conceptions Mt MIL lComio ana
Positlysm, p 1872 says: NJ Comte Is norally 10,
toxcated man. Every question with him IS one OF
morality and no motive 6nt th3t OF m0rF Is pG per
hence has not referred to Comic IN that connection
p p. coz. says, speaking OF the Emotions
gladly borrow the word aitrnistic. for ~ which
inconsistent with Comics ignoring the problem OF
ais. COmte at the time OF his death was engaged on
the in his life of COme pp 295 and 900 I'd edition.
NJ La1tte the present director OF Postyism has now
cOrding TO the system OF Auguste Comte. You
can now judge, Sir. II your reviewer has
not committed himself 10 an 1ndcfcnsiDle prop
Ostion when lie that the system OF Comte ignores
the problems OF religion and mOcas On the contrary
all POsitivists and the writer Is but student Of the
system hold that those problems are at this day tho
wOrthlest occupation OF philosophers and men OF
science The Positive polity Is based upon the assup
ton that religion and morality are in the present as in
the mast the great Of mankind. IL. Il,
No. S39 EGS! Fiftyffth ST.. Neto- York; Jan II, 1875
[The writer of the above letter msapprehends the
purport of the statement on which he comments. 1t
is not said that Comte ignores the problems of
religion and morals" Comte set aside certain
problems of religion and morals,-namely those
which relate to God and the Soul or in other words
to Theology and Psychology,-andl 1t was on these
that our review undertook to give an abstract of
Mr.. Fiske's reasoning 1t is not denied that there
were other problems of religion and morals which
COmte did not set aside; these discussed else
where in Mr.. Fske's work; but it did not fall within
our plan to consider them-Edl