Abstract

This chapter is a survey of the early reception of positivism in Austria and Germany. Section 1 is an examination of early positivism in Austria. It looks at Theodor Gomperz, who was J. S. Mill’s publicist and translator. Before Comte, Mill was understood as the chief spokesman for positivism in Austria. Section 2 examines Franz Brentano, who was the first champion of Comte’s positivism in Austria. I argue that Brentano had difficulty in squaring positivism with his Roman Catholic faith. Section 3 is a survey of the first German reviews of positivism. It considers authors like Friedrich Buchholz, Karl Twesten, and Rudolf Haym. Section 4 is a treatment of the reception of Comte among the German historians, specifically, Johann Droyson, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Ernst Bernheim.