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Sociological Thought Sukanya Das, Lovely Professional University

notes unit-2: auguste comte : intellectual background

contents
Objectives
Introduction

2.1 Subject Matter
2.2 Summary
2.3 Keywords
2.4 Review Questions
2.5 Further Readings

objectives

After studying this unit, the students will be able to:
y Know the condition and environment of Auguste Comte’s contemporary times.
y Know about the important facts related to the life of Auguste Comte,
y The influence on Auguste Comte’s ideas of the then prevalent environmental conditions.
y To understand the social contribution of Comte.

introduction

Auguste Comte’s name is not only well–known because he did not base his social ideology on
imagination but on scientific evidence, inspection, research and classification. He is universally known
as the father of sociology. He felt the need of science that could study and research social events,
and he named it “Social Physics” and later “Sociology”. In other words “Sociology” was born in the
ideology of Comte.
To achieve progress to a scientific level, comte was helped greatly by certain social conditions. For
instance, the French Revolution destroyed the social system that was based on the divine rights of
bings, special rights and powers of the aristocracy, the power of the Catholic Church and the ignorance
of the masses. As a result of this revolution, the divine powers of the kings ended; the aristocracy lost
its special powers; the Catholic Church’s power and wealth bessened, and the masses became aware.
Using these situations to his benefit, Napoleon was successful in becoming the leader of the French
state. These were all signs of “non–peaceful progress”. Obviously they influenced Comte deeply. At
that time, the main social problem was not just related to social systems but also to social progress.
The upheavals caused is the social system by the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars made it
difficult, if not impossible to give a definite direction to social progress. Therefore it was necessary at
that time to have such thinkers, who could give direction to not only social progress, but also social
systems. Comte declared that plans social progress or reorganization should be based on such scientific
theories which have as their base experience and research. Comte’s contribution in the field of social
ideology is premier. Now we shall study about him expansively.

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