Cerebral Hygiene

He discovered cerebral hygiene while working on Cours de Philosophie Positive. This implied that he had to cease reading other people’s writing to maintain his thoughts clean. In this procedure, any ideas related to outside publications are eliminated.

It requires abstaining from reading scientific articles, reviews, or even newspapers to prevent one’s mind from being tainted by other people’s ideas. The idea of his individuality and self-assertion consumed Comte.

One of the primary causes of Comte’s cerebral hygiene practice was depression. The lack of input from other philosophers and intellectuals distorted Comte’s ideas and impacted his perspective. Even former admirers of Comte, like J.S. Mills, disagreed with specific ideas he developed in his latter years.

According to Comte, “This system of cerebral hygiene suits me too well to change now, especially since it facilitates my rising to and operating without effort in the sphere of what are usually the most abstract generalizations as well as the purest and most unbiased feelings; but, despite such discipline, which I deem essential to the full realization of my life as a philosopher, I am far from indifferent to the influence of my work on our intellectual milieu, even though nowadays I rarely have the time or the means to become aware of it.”