Q0115
Auguste Comte
A verified English rendering from the curated archive.
English
To know, in order to foresee, so as to be able to act.
Source context
This English passage is associated with Cours de philosophie positive (formula), within the tradition of Positivism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.
A short reading
Read in the register of knowledge, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Auguste Comte's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?
How to cite this quotation
APA: Auguste Comte. (n.d.). To know, in order to foresee, so as to be able to act. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0115
MLA: Auguste Comte. “To know, in order to foresee, so as….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0115.
Chicago: Auguste Comte. “To know, in order to foresee, so as….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0115.