"Critique of the Concept of God in Auguste Comte's Positivism Philosophy"

Abstract

The advancement of modern science has given rise to the paradigm of positivism, which asserts that valid knowledge can only be obtained through observation and empirical verification. This paradigm radically rejects the existence of metaphysical entities, including God, as they are deemed unprovable through scientific means. This idea was first systematically formulated by Auguste Comte and has significantly influenced modern society’s perception of religion and spirituality. Within the positivist framework, God is excluded from the realm of scientific inquiry because He cannot be directly observed, and thus is considered irrational and irrelevant in scientific discourse. This study aims to critically examine the positivist rejection of metaphysical realities by presenting rational arguments in support of the existence of God from the perspective of Islamic philosophy. The research employs a qualitative-descriptive approach using library research methods, analyzing both classical and contemporary sources in the fields of theology and philosophy. The findings indicate that the existence of God can be logically explained through several philosophical arguments within the Islamic tradition. These include the Causal Argument, which emphasizes the necessity of a First Cause (Al-'Illah al-Ula) as well as the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments, which posit that the order and complexity of the universe point to the presence of an intelligent designer. Furthermore, Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason affirms that everything that exists must have a sufficient explanation, with the most rational explanation for the existence of the universe being the presence of an absolute and independent God.