The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte

New York: Calvin Blanchard, 1858. First American edition. Hardcover. g. Quarto. 838, [8]pp. Uncut. Original cloth with gold lettering on spine and blind-stamped decoration on covers. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Auguste Comte protected with a tissue-guard. Strongly influenced by the Utopian socialist Henri de Saint-Simon, Comte developed the positive philosophy in an attempt to remedy the social malaise of the French revolution, calling for a new social paradigm based on the sciences. Comte was of considerable influence in 19th century thought, impacting the work of thinkers such as Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill. Slight age-wear on binding with (truncated) minor abrasion at tail of spine. Upper front corner rubbed. Minor shelf wear. Sporadic contemporary underlining in ink throughout the first hundred pages. Binding in overall good+, interior in very good condition. (Inventory #: 28333)