Sociology is a vast discipline that includes the study of the social relationships of humans and their interaction with society. The origin of sociology is rooted back in ancient times. The origin of sociology is associated with the work of Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius, but it properly came into existence in the nineteenth century. The word ‘sociology’ was first used by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) in 1838 and is hence known as the father of sociology. He explained sociology as the scientific study of society. The main idea of Auguste Comte is that all societies progress and develop by following three main stages, namely, religious, scientific and metaphysical. Moreover, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim also have well-reported contributions to sociology.
1. Who is the father of sociology?
People know Auguste Comte as the father of sociology as he first coined the term sociology in 1838. He was the French philosopher who described that sociology is the branch of science which specifically studies human social relationships and how they interact with their societies. Auguste Comte placed sociology at the top of the hierarchy of science. He suggested that sociologists should use other natural sciences research tools. Auguste Comte told sociologists that humans should be well-aware of evidence-based scientific knowledge to solve societal problems. He was against solving societal problems based on speculation or superstition. In addition to this, Auguste Comte introduced the religion of humanity to promote unity in a positivist society.
2. History of Auguste Comte
According to the researcher masters dissertation help firm, the full name of the father of sociology is Isidore Marie Auguste Francois Xavier Comte, who was a French philosopher. He was born in Montpellier, France, on 19 January 1798. Auguste Comte’s father, Louis Comte, was a tax official, and Rosalie Boyer, his mother, was a deeply sincere and royalist Roman Catholic. But all sympathies of his parents were with the republicanism and scepticism that spread in France after French Revolution. Comte was intellectually precocious or advanced and entered the Ecole Polytechnique, a school in Paris, in 1814 after rejecting Roman Catholicism and royalism. Ecole Polytechnique was initially the school that trained military engineers who were later, in 1794, transformed into a school for advanced sciences.
In this adulthood, Auguste Comte lived in Paris and started earning his bread by teaching Mathematics and Journalism. Due to extensive reading in history and philosophy, he always remained curious for knowing the history of human societies. He loved to read Montesquieu, A.R.J Turgot, and Marquis de Condorcet- famous political philosophers of the eighteenth century.
In 1826, Auguste Comte started giving lectures on one of his famous concepts, ‘ the System of Positive Philosophy. From 1830 to 1842, he published six volumes of philosophy entitled Course de philosophie positive. In 1825, he got married to Caroline Massin and divorced in 1842. From 1851 to 1854, he worked on System de politique positive (volume 4), in which he completed the formulation of sociology. Comte’s work was one of the most popular pieces of literature in Europe. Many English writers and philosophers read and translated Comte’s work. After seeing an era of his success, Auguste Comte died in 1857 due to cancer.
3. Theories and Concepts of Auguste Comte:
The famous concepts introduced by Auguste Comte include the Law of Three Stages, Hierarchy of the Sciences, Religion of Humanity, Altruism, and Sociological Positivism. A brief description of these concepts is as follows:
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Law of Three Stages
The law of three stages is an idea proposed by Auguste Comte in literature entitled ‘The course in Positive Philosophy’. It explains that society and science develop by following three mentally convinced stages, namely, the theological stage, the metaphysical state and the positive stage. The theological stage refers to the concept that people use divine and supernatural explanations for developing an understanding of the world. At the same time, the metaphysical stage is the extension of the theological stage that refers to the brief that an abstract power determines the events in the world. Besides, the positive stage explains that the problem-solving approach must base on evidence-based scientific knowledge.
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Hierarchy of Science
Hierarchy of Science is one of the most famous works of the father of sociology. This theory of Comte explains that science develops with time, starting from the simple scientific disciplines. However, he added that with time disciplines become more complex and less general. In this regard, he placed astronomy at the bottom and social sciences at the top of the hierarchy of science. This theory also declares a faster rate of advancement and a high level of consensus in physics and other natural sciences compared to social sciences.
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Religion of Humanity
Comte’s Religion of Humanity is a brief that no divine and supernatural power controls the world’s events. He was against the concept of a theological kind of religion and believed that God resides only in man’s negligence.
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Altruism
In Comte’s definition, altruism is the act of living for others. Auguste Comte coined this term in the early 1850s in his ‘cerebral theory. Later, he laid the foundation of the religion of humanity on the concept of altruism. He described altruism as prioritising others over personal needs and interests. Thus, the term altruism explains an ethical doctrine that suggests humans are morally bound to benefit each other.
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Sociological Positivism
Auguste Comte first described positivism from an epistemological approach- a philosophical study of origin, limits and nature of human knowledge in ‘the course in positive philosophy, published between 1830 and 1842. Later, the text ‘A General View of Positivism’ (1844) also explained the concept of positivism. Comte’s positivism theory believes that human societies should also operate on scientific principles and laws like other scientific disciplines, such as physics and chemistry. He believed that scientific knowledge makes society a better place of living for humans.
Final thoughts
Every sociologist must know Auguste Comte as the father of sociology. Firstly, he is the founder of sociology. Secondly, his approach to studying society using evidence-based scientific knowledge was a big step forward. Thirdly, he has several contributions to the field of sociology. The most popular theories and concepts of Auguste Comte include Sociological positivism, Altruism, Religion of Humanity, Law of Three Stages, and Hierarchy of Science.
