Same answer someone would have a given a thousand years ago?
Do you think the answer might be different a thousand years in the future?
Our understanding of the world reflects how global society
has changed over time and how people in general understand our world.
Philosophers have been talking about nature of society for thousands of years,
going all the way back t9o the ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers such as
Confucius or Plato. This lesson focuses on a more modern theorist – a
sociologist named Auguste Comte.
Comte is famous for being the person who actually came with
the term ‘sociology’ way back in 1838 to define the study of society. So what
did Comte say about how global society as Ancient people in the theological
stage believed that the planets were gods.
Three Stages to
Society
Comte believed that sociology could identify three major
stages to the development of global society. The first and earliest stage is
called the theological stage.
Starting at the very beginning of human beings and social groups, Comte
believed that in this stage, people viewed the world and the events of the
world as direct expressions of the will of the gods. In other words, ancient
people believed that everything around was a sign of active gods influencing
their lives.
For example, ancient people actually believed that planets
were gods in the sky, looking down on earth. Even the sun was the part of the
world of the gods; ancient Greeks believed that the sun was one wheel on the
massive chariot steered by Apollo. If something bad happened, like a community
experienced bad weather on an earthquake, people in the theological
state explain that event as g9od be angry and showing his or her anger to the
people. In short, the theological state meant that people used divine or
supernatural explanations to understand society and the world.
Comte’s second stage of the society is called the metaphysical stage. Comte said that
this stage started around the Middle Ages in Europe, or somewhere around the
1300s. In the metaphysical stage of society, people viewed the world as
reflection of human tendencies. People in this stage still believed in divine
powers or gods, but they believed that these beings are more abstract and les
directly involved in what happens on daily basis. Instead, problems in the
world are due to defect of humanity.
