Although the positivist approach has been a `` recurrent theme in the history of western thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day '' , the concept was developed in the early 19th century by the philosopher and founding sociologist , Auguste Comte . Though the positivist approach has been a ` recurrent theme in the history of western thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day ' the concept was developed in the early 19th century by the philosopher and founding sociologist , Auguste Comte .