Schelling and Comte: Positive about Science

A comparison between the positive philosophies of Schelling and Comte in the light of modern debates in the philosophy of science.

Almost two hundred years ago, Schelling in Germany and Comte in France expounded their own philosophical system with an important place for science. Both thinkers called their system explicitly a positive philosophy. Their basis assumptions are very different: religion (Schelling) respectively the absent of religion (Comte) as a necessary condition for science. However, I will show some notable resemblances between them. Viewed from the perspective of modern philosophy of science, I compare Schelling and Comte and consider some relevant concepts for recent debates in the philosophy of science.