ABSTRACT
For positivism, the passage from sociology to the philosophy of history is a short one. According to P. Lacombe, historical science is the recognition of resemblances and connections: hence the material of history must be divided into that which can be assimilated by scientific concepts and that which proves recalcitrant to them. It is interesting to observe how the idea of a “genuine positivism” haunts the French mind. The reason for the Platonism of science is that in the scientific conception nature is an abstract idea materialized into an object; it is an essence outside time. A. Fouillee is a naturalist with Platonic tendencies who has exercised a certain influence on French philosophy. He sets out to reconcile scientific naturalism with idealism, facts with ideas; and concocts for the purpose the concept of idea-force, which is a mechanical juxtaposition of the two elements.
