8/10/2019 Fathers of Sociology

1/3

Auguste Comte

The French philosopher Auguste Comte (17981857)often called the father

of sociolog!"#rst used the term sociolog!" in 18$8 to refer to the scienti#c

stud! of societ!% &e 'elieed that all societies deelop and progress through

the folloing stages* religious+ metaph!sical+ and scienti#c% Comte argued

that societ! needs scienti#c ,noledge 'ased on facts and eidence to sole

its pro'lemsnot speculation and superstition+ hich characteri-e the

religious and metaph!sical stages of social deelopment% Comte ieed the

science of sociolog! as consisting of to 'ranches* d!namics+ or the stud! of

the processes '! hich societies change. and statics+ or the stud! of the

processes '! hich societies endure% &e also enisioned sociologists as

eentuall! deeloping a 'ase of scienti#c social ,noledge that ould guide

societ! into positie directions%

&er'ert /pencer

The 19th0centur! nglishman &er'ert /pencer (1823193$) compared

societ! to a liing organism ith interdependent parts% Change in one part of

societ! causes change in the other parts+ so that eer! part contri'utes to

the sta'ilit! and surial of societ! as a hole% 4f one part of societ!

malfunctions+ the other parts must adust to the crisis and contri'ute een

more to presere societ!% Famil!+ education+ goernment+ industr!+ andreligion comprise ust a fe of the parts of the organism" of societ!%

/pencer suggested that societ! ill correct its on defects through the

natural process of surial of the #ttest%" The societal organism" naturall!

leans toard homeostasis+ or 'alance and sta'ilit!% /ocial pro'lems or,

themseles out hen the goernment leaes societ! alone% The #ttest"the

rich+ poerful+ and successfuleno! their status 'ecause nature has

selected" them to do so% 4n contrast+ nature has doomed the un#t"the

poor+ ea,+ and unsuccessfulto failure% The! must fend for themselesithout social assistance if societ! is to remain health! and een progress to

higher leels% 6oernmental interference in the natural" order of societ!

ea,ens societ! '! asting the eorts of its leadership in tr!ing to def! the

las of nature%

8/10/2019 Fathers of Sociology

2/3

arl ar:

;ot eer!one has shared /pencerict+ especiall! class con>ict+ and competition mar, all

societies%

The class of capitalists that ar: called the 'ourgeoisie particularl! enraged

him% em'ers of the 'ourgeoisie on the means of production and e:ploit

the class of la'orers+ called the proletariat+ ho do not on the means of

production% ar: 'elieed that the er! natures of the 'ourgeoisie and theproletariat inescapa'l! loc, the to classes in con>ict% ?ut he then too, his

ideas of class con>ict one step further* &e predicted that the la'orers are not

selectiel! un#t+" 'ut are destined to oerthro the capitalists% /uch a class

reolution ould esta'lish a class0free" societ! in hich all people or,

according to their a'ilities and receie according to their needs%

@nli,e /pencer+ ar: 'elieed that economics+ not natural selection+

determines the dierences 'eteen the 'ourgeoisie and the proletariat% &e

further claimed that a societ!

8/10/2019 Fathers of Sociology

3/3

his ideas on the topic to mere speculation% ur,heim formulated his

conclusions a'out the causes of suicide 'ased on the anal!sis of large

amounts of statistical data collected from arious uropean countries%

ur,heim certainl! adocated the use of s!stematic o'seration to stud!

sociological eents+ 'ut he also recommended that sociologists aoid

considering people