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MA in Sociology Paper III

Classical Sociological Theory

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE & CONTINUING EDUCATION

UTKAL UNIVERSITY, Vani Vihar

Bhubaneswar, India

UNIT-1 AUGUSTE COMTE

Structure

1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Life Sketch and Works 1.3 The Law of Three Stages 1.3.1 Theological or Fictitious Stage 1.3.2 Metaphysical or Abstract Stage 1.3.3 Positive or Scientific Stage 1.3.4 Stages in Social Organisation and Progress 1.4 Hierarchy of Sciences 1.5 Theory of Positivism 1.5.1 Comte’s View of Sociological Theory 1.5.2 Use of Sociological Methods 1.5.3 Comte’s Organisation of Sociology 1.6 Critical View of Comte’s Ideas 1.7 Lets Sum Up 1.8 Key Words

believed that this new science of society should be based on observation and reasoning. Sociology should be used to create a better society. According to him, Sociology is concerned both with Social Statics (social structures) and Social Dynamics (social change). He felt that social dynamics was more important than social statics which reflects his interest in social reform, particularly the ills created by French Revolution and the Enlightenment.

1.2 Life Sketch and Works

Isidore Auguste Marie Francois Xavier Comte, better known as Auguste Comte, was born in Montpellier, Herault, in Southern France on 19th^ January 1798. After attending the Lycee Joffre and then the University of Montepellier, Comte joined the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. But two years later the institutions were closed down by the Bourbons. In August 1817, Comte met Claude Henry Saint Simon who appointed him as his secretary. He was thus initiated into politics at a very young age. He published a great number of articles which brought him to the public sphere. In 1824, he broke with Saint Simon. Comte married Caroline Massin and divorced in 1842. In 1826, he was taken to a mental hospital, but left without being cured. He started teaching Course of Positive Philosophy in January 1829 and published six volumes of the Course (1830, 1835, 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842). Comte developed a close friendship with John Stuart Mill and developed a new “Religion of Humanity”. He published four volumes of “Systeme de politique positive” (1851-1854). His final work, the first volume of “La Synthese Subjective” (The Subjective Synthesis), was published in 1854. Comte died of stomach cancer on 5th^ September 1857 in Paris. His other works include ‘Elementary Treatise on Analytic Geometry’ (1843), ‘The Philosophical Treatise on Popular Astronomy’ (1844), ‘The Discourse on Positive Spirit’ (1844), and ‘The General View of Positivism’ (1848).

1.3 The Law of Three Stages

‘The Law of Three Stages’ is considered to be the corner stone of Comtian thought. This theory has got the influence of Charles Darwin’s theory of “Organic Evolution”. Auguste Comte organized and classified the social thought prevailing before his times. Comte gave birth not only to a specific methodology of studying knowledge but also analyzed the evolution of human thinking at its various stages. The Law of Three Stages states that society as a whole, and each particular science, develops through three different mentally conceived stages: theological, metaphysical and positive. The main aim of this principle is that it provides the basis of sociological thinking. These stages, he thought, characterized the development of both human knowledge and of society, which correspondingly developed from a military to a legal, and finally to an industrial stage. According to Comte, the evolution of human mind has paralleled the evolution of the individual mind. Just as an individual tends to be a staunch believer in childhood, a critical metaphysician in adolescence and a natural philosopher in manhood, so also mankind in its growth has followed three major steps.

The three stages are discussed in detail below:

1.3.1 Theological or fictitious stage According to Comte, in this stage, “all theoretical conceptions, whether general or special, bear a supernatural impress”. People are unaware about the real causes of the natural and social phenomena and they attribute the happenings to imaginary or divine forces beyond their mental reach. This stage is further sub-divided into three sub stages. a. Fetishism - Here man accepts the existence of spirit or soul. The supernatural powers resided in the fetishes or mystical qualities attributed to inanimate objects. Hence, ‘fetishism’ emerged as a form of religion and it admitted no priesthood, because its gods are individuals, each residing in fixed objects.

1.3.4 Stages in Social Organisation and Progress Comte not only identified three stages in the development of human thinking but also observed three stages in the development of society or social organisation. All these modes of thinking-theological, metaphysical and positive-determine and correspond to a particular type of social organisation. This explanation of Comte can be viewed as another important contribution of his sociological thought. Comte declared that theological thinking leads to a military and monarchical social organisation. Here the God would be the head of the hierarchy and is represented as a mighty warrior. The individuals would be arranged in a military organisation. Divine sanctions are the rules which can hardly be questioned or challenged. Dogmatism would prevail here and its challengers would be punished or threatened with severe punishment. Metaphysical thinking produces a political system in which the power of the king becomes restricted. The constitutional system of government gets priority. The constitutional changes are gradual and there is a movement towards decentralisation of power. It corresponds to a legalistic social organisation. The medieval social organisation clearly represented this kind of society. Here the natural rights are substituted for divine rights. Priesthood is furthered. Society becomes legalistic, structured and formal. In Europe, nation-states emerged during this stage. Positive thinking produced a society dominated by industrialists. It leads to an industrial society in which men inquire into the nature and utilisation of the natural resources and forces. Here the main stress is on the transformation of the material resources of the Earth for human benefit, and production of material inventions. In this positive or scientific stage the great thought blends with the great power.

Comte’s law of three stages is represented in the table shown below: System Theological Metaphysical Positive

1. Cultural (moral) system a. Nature of ideas Ideas are focused on nonempirical forces, spirits, and beings in supernatural realm

Ideas are based on the essences of phenomena and rejection of appeals to supernatural

Ideas are developed from observation and constrained by the scientific method; speculation not based on observation of empirical facts is rejected b. Spiritual leaders

Priests Philosophers Scientists

2.Structural system

a. Most prominent units

Kinship State Industry

b. Basis of integration Attachments to small groups and religious spirit; use of coercive force to sustain commitment to religion

Control by state, military and law

Mutual dependence; coordination of functions by state and general spirit

However, Comte’s law of three stages has been criticised by various theorists. The Law of Three Stages belongs to those grand philosophies of history elaborated in the 19th^ century, which now seem quite alien to us. The idea of progress of humanity appears to us as the

2. The order of dependence upon each other (each rests on the one which precedes it, and prepares the way for the one that follows it)
3. Their decreasing degree of generality and the increasing degree of complexity of their subject matter, and
4. The increasing degree of modifiability of the facts which they study. The serial order of sciences on the basis of their emergence and increasing complexity were Mathematics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Physics, Biology, and Sociology.

From the above classification it becomes clear that Mathematics, according to Comte, is the simplest science while Sociology is the most complex science. In Comte’s view, Mathematics was the first science to reach positive stage, followed by Astronomy, Physics and Chemistry, and after these sciences had reached the positivistic stage, thought organic phenomena could become more positivistic. The first organic science to move from the metaphysical to the positive stage was biology, or physiology. This paved the way for Sociology which could move away from the metaphysical speculations of the 17th^ and 18th century towards a positivistic mode of thought. Sociology has been the last to emerge because it is the more complex and because it had to wait for the other basic sciences to reach the positive stage.

Sociology was the most complex social science because it had to study society, the most complex matter. The other sciences concentrated on comparatively simpler subjects than society. Sociology thus emerged because human beings recognized a new set of objective facts concerning their society like social disorganization, development of slums, poverty etc. which they could not explain, but which they needed to explain in order to deal effectively with them. When Comte spoke of Sociology to crown the hierarchy of sciences, he had the general unifying nature of science in his mind. He did not claim that Sociology is superior to all other sciences. He only felt that with the growth of positive knowledge all sciences can be brought into relationship with each other. According to Comte, all science passes through the three stages, the theological, the metaphysical and the positive. But the individual sciences do not move through these three stages simultaneously. In fact, the higher a science stands in the hierarchy, the later it shifts from one stage to the other. With the growth of positive knowledge he also advocated the use of positive methods for Sociology.

1.5 Theory of Positivism

Positivism is a philosophy developed by Auguste Comte in the middle of the 19th^ century that stated that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can only come from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific method. This view is sometimes referred to as a scientist ideology, and is often shared by technocrats who believe in the necessary progress through scientific progress. As an approach to the philosophy of science deriving from Enlightenment thinkers like Pierre-Simon Laplace (and many others), positivism was first systematically theorized by Comte, who saw the scientific method as replacing metaphysics in the history of thought, and who observed the circular dependence of theory and observation in science. Comte was thus one of the leading thinkers of social evolutionism thought. Comte first described the epistemological perspective of positivism in “The Course in Positive Philosophy”, a series of texts published

idle, and even radically uncertain; that science can use only those observations which are connected with some law. For Comte, sociology’s goal was to seek to develop abstract theoretical principles. Observations of the empirical world must be guided by such principles, and abstract principles must be tested against the empirical facts. Empirical observations that are conducted without this goal in mind are not useful in science. Theoretical explanations of empirical events thus involve seeing how they are connected in law like ways. Comte clearly intended that sociology must initially establish a firm theoretical foundation before making efforts to use the laws of sociology for social engineering. Natural sciences are classified into two classes, the abstract or general and the concrete or particular. Abstract science deals with discovery of laws that regulates a particular phenomenon. The function of concrete natural sciences is the application of these laws to the actual history of existing beings. Therefore, our business concentrates around the abstract sciences which are fundamental in raising the scientific status of a subject. Comte believed that Sociology should be modelled after the natural sciences. Sociology could seek and discover the fundamental properties and relations of the social universe and could explain them in abstract principles. Observation of empirical events could be used to generate, confirm and modify sociology’s law. These laws could be used as tools or instruments to modify the social world.

1.5.2 Use of Sociological methods

Comte formulated four methods for Sociology: (1) Observation, (2) Experimentation, (3) Comparison, and (4) Historical Analysis. Observation For Comte, positivism was based on the use of senses to observe social facts. Comte maintained that the new science of society must rely on reasoning and observation rather than on the authority of tradition. Observation must be unbiased and always guided by a theory. This is necessary for the development of a science. He is credited for firmly establishing

sociology as a science of social facts liberating social thought from the realm of morals and metaphysical speculations. Experimentation Comte recognized that artificial experimentation is not possible with the society and the social phenomena. However, natural experimentation frequently takes place whenever the regular course of the phenomenon is interfered with in any determinate manner. Here he compares biology with sociology. As the biologist can learn about normal bodily functioning from the study of various diseases, so also the social physicists can learn the normal social processes by studying the pathological cases. Even though Comte’s view of natural experimentation lacked the logic of the experimental method, it fascinated the later generation of sociologists. Comparison Just as comparative analysis had been useful in biology, comparison of social forms with those of lower animals, with coexisting states, and with past systems could also generate considerable insight into the operation of the social universe. By comparing elements that are present and absent, and similar and dissimilar, knowledge about the fundamental properties of the social world can be achieved. Historical Analysis Comte originally classified historical analysis as a variation of the comparative method, comparing present with the past. Historical method compares societies throughout the time in which they have evolved. But his formulation of “the law of three stages” emphasized that the laws of social dynamics could ultimately be developed only with careful observation of the historical movement of societies. Comte believed these methods to be necessary for sociological analysis. Even though these methods fall much below the modern scientific standards, he was responsible to compel the later scholars to study social facts scientifically. He visualized social physics to be a

c. Collection of data without the guidance of a theory will not contribute greatly to the accumulation of knowledge about how the society operates. d. Sociology should be used to rebuild social structures guided by a theory rather than by personal and ideological biases. Comte recognises the fact that as society grows in size, parts become interdependent and independent of each other. Comte reintroduced the organismic analogy to social thinking which later developed in the functional theories of Spencer and Durkheim. However, Comte never developed any substantive theory. He did not explain how the social system operates. He compares his law of three stages with that of the Newton’s law of gravity, but his law is no more than a simplistic view of the history of ideas. Though it justifies the emergence of positivism and the queen science, Sociology, it did not advance Sociology’s understanding of the dynamics of the social universe.

1.7 Lets Sum Up

In this unit you learnt about the efforts made by Auguste Comte in developing the science of society, Sociology. You read about the biographical sketch of Auguste Comte and the social environment to which he belonged. He is the founding father of Sociology and coined the word Sociology. His major theories are

1. The law of three stages- theological, metaphysical and positive
2. The hierarchy of sciences
3. The theory of positivism You also learnt about the significance of Comte’s ideas to contemporary Sociology.

1.8 Key Words

Dynamic- It is any mass or object or force which is in a state of motion. In society it corresponds to the notion of social change. Metaphysical- Metaphysical literally means that branch of philosophy which investigates the first principles of nature and thought. For Comte, it is a stage of development of mind in

which the mind explain phenomenon by invoking abstract entities or forces like “nature”. In this stage human beings explain the meaning of the world in terms of “essences”, “ideas”, etc. Method- The way of collecting data or facts about social phenomena, such as the method of observation, survey, etc. Positive- Positive literally means anything in the affirmative. For Comte it is the last stage of the development of mind. Here the search for ‘original sources’ ‘final ends’ about existence of human being stops. Instead human beings start observing phenomena and establishing regular links which exist between these phenomena. Thus, in the positive stage human beings search for laws which link facts and which govern social life. Science- Systematized knowledge derived from observation, study and experimentation. Scientific knowledge can be tested, verified or proved. Static- Any mass or object or force which is at an equilibrium, i.e. which does not move. In society it corresponds to the notion of the structure of society. Theological- Theology is the study of religion. For Comte it is the first stage of development of mind. In this stage mind explains phenomenon by ascribing them to beings or forces comparable to human beings. Here explanations take the form of myths concerning spirits and supernatural beings.

1.9 Suggested Further Readings

Coser, Lewis. A. 1971. Masters of Sociological Thought Ideas in Historical and Social Context. Second Edition, Harcourt Brace Jovonovich, Inc.: New York. Aron, Raymond. 1967. Main Currents in Sociological Thought. Vol.1. England: Penguin Books.

2.4.9.2 Forced division of labour 2.5 Theory of Suicide 2.5.1 A social theory of suicide 2.5.2 Types of suicide 2.5.2.1 Egoistic suicide 2.5.2.2 Altruistic suicide 2.5.2.3 Anomic suicide 2.5.2.4 Fatalistic suicide 2.6 Social Facts 2.6.1 Meaning of social facts 2.6.2 Types of social facts 2.6.3 Characteristics of social facts 2.6.4 Externality and constraint 2.6.5 Rules for the observation of social facts 2.6.6 Rules for distinguishing the normal and pathological 2.6.7 Rules for the explanation of social facts 2.7 Theory of Religion 2.7.1 A functionalist perspective of religion 2.7.2 Durkheim and elementary forms of religious life 2.7.3 Durkheim’s definition of religion 2.7.4 Sacred and profane 2.7.5 Totemism as the elementary form of religion 2.7.5.1 Totemism and cosmology 2.7.5.2 Totem and society 2.7.6 Religious rites and their social functions 2.7.7 Critical remarks 2.8 Lets sum up

2.9 Key Words 2.10 Suggested further readings

2.0 Objectives

As going through this unit you will be able to understand  Division of labour as a social process which aims at maintaining social solidarity and how it contributes to collective consciousness  Suicide as a by product of social factors, low or high level of integration or little or excessive regulation  Study of social facts which exists external to the individual and exercises a moral constraint over them  Theory of religion which will analyse the functional role of religion, rites, beliefs and rituals in maintaining social solidarity.

2.1 Introduction

David Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science. Durkheim was deeply preoccupied with the acceptance of sociology as a positive science. He refined the positivism originally set forth by Auguste Comte. For him, sociology was the science of institutions (beliefs and modes of behaviour instituted by the collectivity) and it aims to discover structural social facts. Durkheim was a major proponent of structural functionalism, a foundational perspective in both sociology and anthropology. In his view, sociology should study the society at large, rather than being limited to the specific action of individuals. He remained a dominant force in the French intellectual life until his death in 1917 and presenting numerous lectures and published a variety of works which includes the sociology of knowledge, morality, social stratification, religion, law, education, and deviance. Chief among his claims is that society is a reality, sui generis, or a reality unique to itself and irreducible to its composing parts. It is created when individual consciences interact