The historical imaginary of social science in post-Revolutionary France: Bonald, Saint-Simon, Comte

The founding fathers of sociology in post-Revolutionary France found history at once refractory and indispensable vis-a-vis their reconstructive and defensive intellectual projects. The same decades also witnessed a serious weakening of premodern customs of governance and belief in Europe. These two constructs converged as regards both the stability-seeking motives of their authors and the pseudo-scientific language of their texts.