TSS - Father Comte Lesson
"Father Comte"
Although sociology is a relatively new academic discipline, its subject matter is as old as history itself. At first, humankind relied on mythology to explain the world and humans' place in it. All of the earliest civilizations had their own versions of how the world started and what humans should do while living here. Those people who heard these stories did their best to follow the lessons found within the content. Over time, however, philosophers emerged on the stage and argued that the answers to the great mysteries of life might be found a little closer to home. Between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C., these philosophers gathered followers as they sought answers in China, India, and Greece. Once begun, the quest for knowledge of our world and ourselves evolved through the centuries- the millennia- with teachers, political leaders, authors, theologians, and students guiding its course. Through all of those centuries- millennia- humans studied humans. So why is sociology such a young discipline? Because in all of that time, students and writers on the subject of society and culture focused on what made up the ideal- they did not concern their queries with what was actual.
When Auguste Comte arrived on the academic scene in the 1830s, he asked: "Men are not allowed to think freely about chemistry and biology: why should they be allowed to think freely about political philosophy?" He argued that, just as the physical world relies on those laws discovered by physicists, chemists and biologists, so too does society rely on its own set of laws. He then set out to blend the world of science with political philosophy resulting in his theory of Positivism. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's talk about Comte's life before his trailblazing work as the father of sociology.
Auguste Comte was born in Montpellier, France in 1798 during that brief period between the dwindling of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor. Comte came of age during a time when people still remembered the horrors of the "Reign of Terror" while experiencing the thrill of the Napoleonic Wars.
Auguste Comte Timeline
Walkthrough the timeline below to see more about the environment before and during Auguste Comte's upbringing before his rise to "Father of Sociology."
When Comte blended the philosophy of science with political philosophy, he had a goal in mind- to reorganize society. First, however, he needed to understand how society worked. Comte argued that there were three stages of historical development that prepared the world for the field of Sociology.
Comte's Three Stages of Historical Development Activity
Select each > in the activity below to learn about each stage.
It was the third stage of historical development that prompted Auguste Comte to ask why men are allowed to think freely regarding political philosophy but not for the sciences. With his determination to apply the scientific method to the study of society, Auguste Comte created an approach called positivism. Essentially, positivism is a way of understanding society based on science. He then went on to coin the term "Sociology" by linking the Latin prefix "socius," meaning "companion," to the Greek suffix "logos," meaning "knowledge." Hence the title awarded to Auguste Comte as "THE Father of Sociology."
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