According to auguste comte, the type of thinking favored by people such as thomas edison, the inventor of the light bulb, becomes common in a society at which stage of societal development

I believe the answer is: scientific stage

In the scientific stage of societal develoment, people start to rely more on empirical evidence to drive their decision rather than religion or any forms of diety. In this stage of development, innovations would start to flourish and society tend to keep inventing things that increase their prosperity.

the president has the power to appoint federal judges, ambassadors, and other "principal officers” of the united states, subject to senate confirmation of such appointments.