Auguste Comte (1798-1857)Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

“The Father of Sociology” (or not??)

Auguste Comte (1798-1857)Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

ISIDORE AUGUSTE MARIE FRANCOIS XAVIER COMTE

BORN JANUARY 19, 1798

WAS “SICK BUT SMART”

Comte cont’d.Comte cont’d.

IN 1814 HE ENTERED THE ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE, 4TH ON LISTSCHOOL CLOSED IN 1816

SUPPORTED HIMSELF BY TUTORING,DID NOT REAPPLY WHEN SCHOOL REOPENED

MET HENRI SAINT-SIMON IN 1817BROKE WITH SAINT-SIMON IN 1824

MARRIED IN 1825 INSTITUTIONALIZED,

REMOVED BY WIFE, NOT DEEMED CURED, TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE

Comte cont’d.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 WORKSSCIENTIFIC 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 ProgressThe 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”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 Analysis of the “Theological Stage”Stage”

THE THEOLOGICAL STAGE OF KNOWLEDGE

---the earliest stage--can itself be broken down into three

substages…

Theological Stage, cont’d.Theological Stage, cont’d.

a. FETISHISM--- attributing powers and causes of

phenomena to special objects, often inanimate (Ex: rocks, trees, etc.)

b. POLYTHEISM –multiple godsc. MONOTHEISM – a single God*notice how knowledge over time becomes

“refined” or “reduced” to Comte

The Metaphysical StageThe 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 STAGEThe 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 DynamicsStatics 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)

StaticsStatics

STATICS:

THE BASIC FACT OF SOCIAL ORDER IS, CONSENSUS UNIVERSALIS, THE NECESSARY CORRELATION OR INTERCONNECTION AMONG THE ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY

Three Levels of SocietyThree 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

DynamicsDynamics

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

ConclusionConclusion

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…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”