Scientific or positive stage

The scientific or positive stage is the third phase, with observation and experimentation as its foundational basis. Humans stop looking for “original roots” or “final causes” when they reach the positive stage since they cannot be verified against the evidence or used to meet human wants. At this point, human intellect focuses on understanding their rules or their constant relations of succession and similarity. People want to create rules that bring facts together and control society. The individual mind becomes preeminent in the quest for the universe’s beginning and end at this point in social evolution. It emphasizes the significance of the diverse phenomena’ causes. It proves that knowledge is acquired via reasoning and observation. There is no room for supposition or belief at this point.

At this point, individuals look for universal rules that apply to all occurrences. The positive stage is Comte’s ultimate step for society. As the name suggests, people in this place consider the world and events as explainable by scientific principles. Most individuals in contemporary culture agree that the planets are real physical things formed of gas or rock. People think that medication is the best treatment for illness and that germs cause disease.

The positive stage represents the scientific style of thinking. In the final stage, according to Comte, the mind has given up the self-centered quest after absolute conceptions and devotes itself to analyzing their laws – their invariable interactions of succession & resemblance.

The first step in the scientific process, where belief and superstition have no role, is observing and categorizing facts. After that, everything comes to a logical conclusion. Comte created the positivist idea, a solely intellectual perspective on the universe. He emphasized the significance of classifying and observing phenomena. In reality, positivism elevated data classification and observation. The necessities of industrialized civilization are met by optimistic thinking.

The family served as the most significant social unit during the theological stage, the state served as the fundamental social unit during the metaphysical phase, and the human race as a whole will serve as the most significant social unit during the positive stage.