Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
“The Father of Sociology” (or not??)
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

ISIDORE
AUGUSTE MARIE
FRANCOIS
XAVIER COMTE
 BORN JANUARY
19, 1798
 WAS “SICK BUT
SMART”
Comte cont’d.


IN 1814 HE ENTERED
THE ECOLE
POLYTECHNIQUE, 4TH
ON LIST
SCHOOL CLOSED IN
1816
SUPPORTED HIMSELF
BY TUTORING,
DID NOT REAPPLY
WHEN SCHOOL
REOPENED



MET HENRI SAINTSIMON IN 1817
BROKE WITH SAINTSIMON IN 1824
MARRIED IN 1825
INSTITUTIONALIZED,
REMOVED BY WIFE,
NOT DEEMED CURED,
TRIED TO COMMIT
SUICIDE
Comte cont’d.

1838, WOULD READ
NO MORE "FOR
REASONS OF
CEREBRAL HYGIENE“
 FROM 1844 ON HE
SIGNED HIS WRITINGS
"THE FOUNDER OF
UNIVERSAL
RELIGION, GREAT
PRIEST OF
HUMANITY"

PREACHED
SUBMISSION AND
NECESSITY OF
ORDER, THIS IS
WHAT ALL GREAT
LEADERS HAD IN
COMMON
 DIED ON SEPT. 5,
1857 OF CANCER
SCIENTIFIC WORKS
GOAL TO FIND GENERAL LAWS OF
SOCIETY
SOCIAL PHYSICS - ONCE FOUND USED
FOR SOCIAL ENGINEERING
--created terms “social statics” and
“social dynamics” to refer to the stability
of and changes within society… terms
from physics.
The Law of Human Progress
HE DECREED THIS TO BE THE MOST
BASIC OF ALL SOCIAL LAWS:
---All human knowledge evolves through
three distinct stages:
The “Stages of Knowledge”

1. THEOLOGICAL - MILITARY NATURAL
PHENOMENA EXPLAINED AS BEING DUE
TO THE WILL AND ACTION OF DIVINITIES
 2. METAPHYSICAL - JUDICIAL NATURAL
PHENOMENA EXPLAINED AS BEING DUE
TO SOME FORCE WITHIN THE OBJECT
ITSELF (I.E. EARTHLY CAUSES)
 3. POSITIVISTIC – INDUSTRIAL/SCIENTIFIC
Analysis of the “Theological
Stage”

THE THEOLOGICAL STAGE OF
KNOWLEDGE
 ---the earliest stage
 --can itself be broken down into three
substages…
Theological Stage, cont’d.
a. FETISHISM
--- attributing powers and causes of
phenomena to special objects, often
inanimate (Ex: rocks, trees, etc.)
b. POLYTHEISM –multiple gods
c. MONOTHEISM – a single God
*notice how knowledge over time becomes
“refined” or “reduced” to Comte
The Metaphysical Stage
Comte’s metaphysical stage is one in which
the concept of God as the cause of earthly
phenomena becomes “abandoned” in lieu of
“earthly causes”
 This is a transitional and “philosophical”
stage of explanation of social phenomena

The POSITIVE STAGE
According to Comte, this is the “highest form of
human knowledge”
 It is inherently scientific and technological and can
be used to solve social problems and be used
forever to improve human society
 It would, according to Comte, replace traditional
religions and create a society that worshipped
itself…

Statics and Dynamics
COMTE'S SOCIOLOGY DIVIDES INTO
TWO PARTS: STATICS AND
DYNAMICS
 STATICS: THE STUDY OF EXISTENT
CONDITIONS (SOCIAL ORDER)
 DYNAMICS: THE STUDY OF THE
LAWS OF SUCCESSION OF THE
THREE STAGES (PROGRESS)
Statics
STATICS:
THE BASIC FACT OF SOCIAL ORDER IS,
CONSENSUS UNIVERSALIS, THE
NECESSARY CORRELATION OR
INTERCONNECTION AMONG THE
ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY
Three Levels of Society
COMTE DISTINGUISHED THREE LEVELS OF
SOCIETY;
 A. THE INDIVIDUAL (BIOLOGICAL)
 B. FAMILY
 C. SOCIAL COMBINATIONS
(CITIES) HUMANITY ITSELF IS THE
HIGHEST FORM
THE BASIC SOCIAL UNIT FOR SOCIOLOGY
WAS THE FAMILY
Dynamics
DYNAMICS:



A. PROGRESS IS OBSERVABLE IN ALL ASPECTS OF
SOCIETY, PHYSICAL, MORAL, INTELLECTUAL, POLITICAL
B. THE INTELLECTUAL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT,
HISTORY IS DOMINATED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF
IDEAS LEADING TO CHANGES IN OTHER AREAS
C. COMTE SAID THAT "CORRELATIONS" BETWEEN BASIC
INTELLECTUAL STAGES AND STAGES OF MATERIAL
DEVELOPMENT, TYPES OF SOCIAL UNITS, TYPES OF
SOCIAL ORDER, AND SENTIMENTS
Conclusion

Comte used his new
“religion” of sociology to
“appoint” himself “pope”
of the faith and eventually
offered to rule the world
under the Comtean
scheme… insanity,
grandiosity, and
depression set into his
mind


He did coin the term
“Sociology” and is
credited with being its
founder, but was he
really?
About 150 years earlier
the Italian scholar
Giambattista Vico created
what he called “The New
Science”. It was almost
identical to Comte’s work.
Final Thoughts…

While sociology was
created as a kind of
“cult movement” by
Comte, it eventually
grew into the social
science we know
today. Comte’s works
were translated into
English by Harriet
Martineau…

The British
evolutionary naturalist
Herbert Spencer read
them and began
calling himself a
“sociologist”
 Comte died a tragic
figure but left a legacy
called “sociology”