Auguste Comte: The Father Of Sociology

There is great truth in the fact that our behavior and ideals are shaped by the influence of the society around us. This statement can be validated in terms of understanding a simple example. The dress code in our universities are rules and norms that the student community is bound to follow. This proves that an iota of our individual style sense is influenced by this rule or norm that society sets for us. A simple definition of Sociology states that sociology is the study of human social life, groups and society (Giddens, 200U9). Sociology is a relatively new science and provides us a platform to look at the effect society has on us with an empirical or a normative view. Sociology at its basic form began with the collective thinking of man.

During the 17th century Louis XVI was considered as the sole monarch and ruler. The State rebelled against the church and their form of monarchy .They overthrew the rule of the non-secular, authoritative church. History explains to us the factors that brought on the French Revolution. Some of the reasons were the rise of the wealthy merchants (bourgeoisie), the poor economic conditions of the peasants, the strong spread of feudalism, the poor economic status due to their participation in the American Revolution and the development in philosophy and political reasoning. During the 17th and the 18th century, great thinkers revolted against the system of feudalism. This was the age of “Enlightenment”. Charles Montesquieu was an influential person during the times of Enlightenment. He analyzed that “humanity was something that develops from infancy to maturity with conflict in between the stages”. He also believed that Enlightenment could be instrumental for intellectual development, as data and logistics gave humanity a scientific touch. Karl Marx, a well-known sociologist and economist was keen on social welfare and initiated the socialist, Marxist movement which helped the poor and the underprivileged. Darwinism also rose during this period of time and it contradicted the ideas of Karl Marx as Charles Darwin’s theory was based on the fact that evolution took place due to the “survival of the fittest”. Some of the great thinkers were influenced by the French Revolution. Few of them were Auguste Comte, Hebert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. This eventful period of history was termed “The Great Transformation” by Karl Polanyi, an Austro-Hungarian philosopher. The French Revolution is a good example for the formation of an association which fought against a common goal. It portrays to us the nationalism that the people possessed which again is a