Henri de Saint-Simon: thought, sociology and positivism

Biography, thought and works of Saint-Simon, founder of French socialism, philosopher, sociologist and supporter of positivism.

Biography of Saint-Simon
The works of Saint-Simon
The thought of Saint-Simon
1. Science and social physiology
2. Saint-Simon and the philosophy of history
3. Saint-Simon and the founding of a new company
4. The mystical vision of the last period
Key concepts

Table of Contents

Biography of Saint-Simon

Saint-Simon, 1790 (1760-1825): French philosopher and founder of French socialism – Source: Getty-Images

Birth and familyClaude-Henri De Rouvroy , Count of Saint-Simon , was born in 1760 in Paris , into a noble family of landowners. One of his ancestors, Louis de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, had been a court man of Louis XIV and was the author of diaries, the Mémoires , dedicated to the life of the nobles in the age of the Sun King .

The travelsSaint-Simon spent an extremely interesting life: it seems that he was a pupil of Jean Baptiste Le Rond D’Alembert , the well-known Enlightenment encyclopedist and was able to travel a lot.

AmericaIn 1779 he left for America , in the context of the American war of independence , after the French had decided to join the side of the Americans against the British.

Jean Baptiste Le Rond d’Alembert and the Enlightenment: biography and thought

French RevolutionBack in his native country during the French Revolution , he decided to found a society for speculating on the assets of the clergy . Although he had been faithful to the values of the Revolution – he had also obtained a sort of revolutionary baptism, obtaining the name of Claude Bonhomme – in 1793 he suffered an arrest by the Public Health Committee .

The career of an entrepreneurReleased a year later, he first founded a textile industry and then a transport company, but his career as an entrepreneur was not successful . Later, he lost all his huge wealth and had to rely on the generosity of his friends in order to cope with his difficult economic situation .

Auguste Conte: biography, thought and works

StudiesThe complex financial situation did not stop him from devoting himself to studying and writing: starting from the early nineteenth century, he published numerous texts and pamphlets that allowed him to become one of the main references for what concerns social positivism , the utopian socialism and sociology .

The collaboration with ComteBetween 1818 and 1824 Auguste Comte , a prominent personality in the panorama of French positivism , was one of his collaborators . Comte was strongly influenced by the work of Saint-Simon.

Last yearsIn recent years, however, financial difficulties and the lack of recognition of his ideas led him to make an extremely serious gesture. In fact, in 1823 he attempted suicide . Having survived, in the same year he got to know a particularly wealthy man who showed his appreciation for his ideas and who decided to support him financially . Saint Simon was thus able to continue studying and writing his works until his death , which occurred in 1825 in Paris .

SansimonismAfter his death, his thought was widely echoed. His disciples organized a saintsimoniana school and a saintsimoniana church was even founded , but dissolved in the 1830s.

2 The works of Saint-Simon

Main worksSaint-Simon’s speculative and theoretical activity materializes in the writing of a series of well-known works and in the direction of two periodicals: L’industrie and L’organisateur . The main titles of his works are:

Letters from an inhabitant of Geneva to his contemporaries, 1803;
Sketch of a new plan of social organization, 1804;
Letters to the Office of Longitudes, 1808;
Introduction to scientific works of the nineteenth century, 1808;
New Encyclopedia, 1810;
Memory on the science of man, 1813;
The Reorganization of European Society, 1814;
Catechism of Industrialists,1823;
Of the social organization,1824;
New Christianity, 1825.

At the center of his works there is a reflection on the history and role of scienceHis works focus on a reflection on history, on the role of science and express his conviction in the need to re-establish society according to scientific criteria for the development of production, economy, industry, in favor of progress that can involve all social strata.

3The thought of Saint-Simon

3.1 Science and social physiology

Political thinking in the 19th century: liberalism, democracy, socialism

Social physiologyBy placing scientific progress at the center of human and social development , he recognizes a fundamental role for science also in the case of the study, interpretation and organization of society. He calls social physiology the scientific discipline that has social facts and society as its object .

What is society for Saint-Simon?Society , for Saint-Simon , is not the sum of single individuals, single personalities, wills and intelligences, but is an agglomeration , a whole, whose functioning is guaranteed by the close and interdependent collaboration between all its parts. Society, like a human body, is functioning and in “good health” if all its parts, like the organs of a human being, perform their function effectively, thus contributing to general well-being. Society is thus to study with the same criteria and methods that scientists apply when studying organisms .

The task of social physiologyThe social physiology , the science of society, is functional not only to the understanding and description of the company itself, but should serve as a basis for establishing the laws that govern the lives of men in the community and to allow the establishment of a new company.

3.2 Saint-Simon and the philosophy of history

Philosophy of historyIn all his works, he underlines the central role of economics, science and technology, of production as the goal of an advanced and progressing society . In his project to re-establish a society based on scientific criteria, he also traces a philosophy of history . Progress is a process that does not follow a linear path: the past is in fact an alternation of organic and critical periods .

French Revolution: causes, chronology, events and protagonists

Organic agesORGANIC TIMES : these are the phases in which balanced, harmonious societies dominate, built on coherent systems and solid and shared principles. According to Saint-Simon , the Middle Ages is the last historical period that can be defined as an organic age.

Critical erasCRITICAL PERIODS : during these times, society is fragmented and in a phase of disintegration . There is no single belief system, but different worldviews appear at odds with each other. Since the end of the Middle Ages , man has been living in a critical age. The judgment expressed on the Enlightenment and on modern society is therefore also negative. If thanks to the Enlightenment the ancient regime was overthrown, however, the Enlighteners only made a strong criticism of the present, without however being able to propose an alternative society, nor to lay the foundations for its reorganization. The French Revolution itself has turned into authoritarianism and violence.

3.3 Saint-Simon and the founding of a new company

Enlightenment: definition, meaning and characteristics

Overcoming the social organization of his timeTo found a new society , based on technology and science and aimed at the progress and productivity of the economy, Saint-Simon argues that the social organization of his time must be overcome .

Industrial and idleHe notes that in his time the world is divided between the industrialists and the idle .

The Industrialare all those who work, produce , provide the economy to function and allow the life of the company and its members. Entrepreneurs, workers, technicians, scientists, farmers, artists fall into this category. It is necessary for industrialists to become aware of their indispensable function within society.
The idle onesare those who hold power , even if they do not have the merit and the skills, living on the shoulders of industrialists and their work, like parasites. Among the idle, Saint-Simon , counts members of the clergy, those who live on income, landowners, nobles.

Change in power relationsIn his project of society, at the base of a new organic epoch, the power relations should change : scientists would be responsible for spiritual power, responsible instead of temporal power should be those who work and produce, that is, the industrialists. Science should be the discipline that guides the foundation of society, to be organized as a business and therefore placing economy and production at the basis of its functioning.

3.4The mystical vision of the last period

Mysticism and religious inspirationThe New Christianity is the last work of Saint Simon , written in the year of his death. This work opens a reflection tinged with mysticism and religious inspiration . Saint-Simon considers it necessary to support those who are poorer in society . As a keen observer, he knows well that the poor are the largest part of the population.

The importance of the values of brotherhood and solidarityArguing the need to combat misery and the impoverishment of workers, particularly in the industrial sector, he stresses the importance of the values of brotherhood and solidarity . Universal brotherhood, an economy organized on the principle of planned work, the primacy of industry and productivity, a division of goods based on the work done, are the foundations for the foundation of a new society capable of integrating even its weakest parts. .

Key concepts

· Saint-Simon: life

Claude-Henri De Rouvroy, Count of Saint-Simon, was born in 1760 in Paris, into a noble family. Trained in the Enlightenment, he went to America in the context of the American War of Independence. Returning to France during the Revolution, despite having shown fidelity to the revolutionary ideals, he was imprisoned for a few months. He tried the path of entrepreneurship, but was unsuccessful. He lost his huge fortunes and lived in financial straits. From the early 1800s he wrote several works. He is considered a pioneer of sociology , utopian socialism and social positivism . He died in Paris in 1825.

· Thought of Saint-Simon

Science and social physiology. He calls social physiology the scientific discipline that has social facts and society as its object . Society works if all its parts work together for the general good. Society must be studied with a scientific approach and method.
The philosophy of history. Progress is not linear; history is marked by the alternation of organic eras (typical of balanced societies built on shared values, such as the Middle Ages) with critical eras (fragmented, characterized by opposing visions of the world, as in modern societies).
The foundation of a new company. To found a new society , based on science and aimed at the progress and productivity of the economy, the industrialists (the productive classes) must become aware of their role and oppose the idle ones (nobles, clergy, landowners) who hold the power while not having the merits. In his project for society, temporal power should be in the hands of industrialists, spiritual power in scientists.
The mystical vision of the last period. In his latest work, New Christianity , Saint-Simon argues for the need to support the poorest, the largest class, of society. In a text cloaked in mysticism and religious spirit , he underlines the importance of universal brotherhood as a feeling at the basis of human relationships.