Auguste Comte was a French philosopher, the founder of positivism, and a pioneer of scientific sociology. His thinking was essentially evolutionary; he recognized a progression in the development of the sciences; starting from mathematics and progressing through astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology towards the ultimate goal of sociology. He saw this progression reflected in man's mental development. This had proceeded from a theological stage to a metaphysical one. Comte now sought to help inaugurate the final scientific or positivistic era.