Cours de philosophie positive vs Gödel, Escher, Bach: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mathematics, Philosophy
Cours de philosophie positive
More
Auguste Comte publie de 1830 à 1842 son Cours de philosophie positive, dont les quatre volumes constituent un système philosophique englobant l’ensemble des branches de la connaissance, parmi lesquelles la science…
Gödel, Escher, Bach
More
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of "maps" or links between formal systems.…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Gödel, Escher, Bach highest: Gödel, Escher, Bach 4.3 · Cours de philosophie positive 3.2.
- Cours de philosophie positive is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 14 for Gödel, Escher, Bach.
- Cours de philosophie positive has the widest readership — 417 ratings behind its score.
- Cours de philosophie positive reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 407 times.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Cours de philosophie positive | Gödel, Escher, Bach | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.2 (417) | 4.3 (210) |
| Hardcover | — | 4.4 (218) |
| Google Books | — | 1.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 2.5 (9) |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Reception
| Cours de philosophie positive | Gödel, Escher, Bach | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 417 | 218 |
| Editions | 36 | 30 |
| Citations | 407 | 200 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 19054 |
| Pages | 260 | 777 |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Cours de philosophie positive or Gödel, Escher, Bach?
Gödel, Escher, Bach has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Gödel, Escher, Bach 4.3/5, Cours de philosophie positive 3.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Cours de philosophie positive or Gödel, Escher, Bach?
Cours de philosophie positive is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Cours de philosophie positive (260 pages, ≈ 4 h 49 m); Gödel, Escher, Bach (777 pages, ≈ 14 h 23 m).
Which is harder to read: Cours de philosophie positive or Gödel, Escher, Bach?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Cours de philosophie positive: Demanding; Gödel, Escher, Bach: Challenging.