Dynamics is the process of progressive evolution (via fixed, invariable, linear stages) in which people become increasingly more intelligent and in which altruism (unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others) eventually triumphs over egotism (concerned only with self). This progress is observable in all aspects of society; intellectual, moral etc but the intellectual is the most prevalent as it is the development of ideas through history which has led to changes in other areas. The three stages societies progress through are outlined below.
Comte thought that society (and indeed the sciences) went through three distinct stages; Theological, Metaphysical and Positive. He thought when society had reached the end of the positivistic stage it would be Utopia where the world was ruled by experts in each field. The common person wouldn’t need to make
their own decisions as everything would be thought out for them.
-
THEOLOGICAL: Military. (Middle Ages)
- Natural phenomena explained as being the will of God/supernatural forces
- The family is basic social unit
-
METAPHYSICAL: Judicial (1300-1700)
- Mysterious abstract forces employed to explain natural p
Phenomena (e.g. a force in the object itself)
- The state is social unit.
-
POSITIVISTIC: Industrial (1800+)
- The last and highest stage
- Scientific method/invariant laws describe and explain all phenomena
After the basic law of the three stages is Comte’s theory of the hierarchy of sciences. As humans progress through the above stages each dependant on the preceding, so do the sciences (hence all sciences contribute to sociology) Starting with the purest and simplest and ascending in complexity.
- Mathematics
- Astronomy
-
Physics (Galileo1600)
-
Chemistry (Lavoisier 1790)
-
Biology (Lammarck 1815, Darwin 1859)
-
Sociology (Comte 1918) the incomplete science, (had not yet reached positivist stage)
The same research methods were applied for all the above: observation, experimentation, comparison. A new phenomenon was discovered it would be observed and then an attempt would be made to recreate it for experimentation to eliminate the variables. It would be compared to other phenomena, a hypothesis would be made and tested and a conclusion reached. As positivism relies on observable factors to explain phenomena it limits the research methods that can be used for example: structured surveys and questionnaires, official records, birth and death certificates, experiments and statistics can be used as they are objective.
Statistics were used by Durkheim in his study of suicide rates. He was another positivist that shared a lot of Comte’s ideas. Durkheim conducted a study of suicide statistics of a number of different societies. He discovered that although the difference in number of suicides varied over the different societies, the number of suicides over the years in the same societies were remarkably stable. Durkheim concluded that the cause of suicide must be a societal factor external to each individual. If it were determined by biological factors the rates would vary slightly from year to year in each country but would remain reasonably similar worldwide as we all have pretty much the same biological make-up.
The problem with Durkheim’s study is that because he follows the positivist methodology, only the statistics have been examined and there is much more to humans than our behaviour. He never inquired as to why they committed suicide (in positivism, as it’s a study of cause and effect, it is advised not to ask why (an absolute question) as but a relative question like which? or how? or interviewed anyone who had attempted it. Depression for instance could have been a motivating factor but that was not considered. This is one of the disadvantages to positivism.
Firstly it is a mistake to assume that humans and their behaviour can be studied in the same way as natural sciences as we are self aware. An astronomer studying a planet will not alter its behaviour by watching it, but it very likely that a studying a family unit’s behaviour will change if a sociologist is present.
Secondly humans are by nature subjective and their behaviour is motivated by unseen forces.
Thirdly the rules of positivism were laid down by Comte and he based his studies on western white people which is limiting.
Also Comte was out of touch with the real world as he decided to practice ‘cerebral hygiene’ (which involved not reading the works of others incase they polluted his mind) and he never actually did any empirical (that is relying on experience or experiments as opposed to theory) research even though that was what his whole subject was based on.
Fourthly Philosophers Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyeraband are critical of positivist thinking and agree that through the history of science there have been many paradigms (worldviews) and each was accepted as gospel but they’re only interpretations not objective explanations. Newton’s mechanical universe paradigm was accepted until Einstein’s realistic universe replaced it.
In conclusion positivism is the belief that only knowledge derived from observable phenomena using scientific methods is real and valid, that anything which is not quantifiable (e.g. emotions or motivations) is unusable, ‘to posit’ means to test. Auguste Comte’s theories provided the basis for the social sciences. These included the laws of progress, statics and dynamics and the hierarchy of sciences. Comte’s aim was to create a society in which individuals and societies would live in harmony, a Utopia. He wanted positivism to be like a religion (without the superstitions and gods) but ruled by the scientific elite, who would be able to best advise people in their daily lives e.g. deciding their jobs for them. Positivism is flawed in many ways as mentioned above but it was the first approach of the new social science ‘sociology’ and still influences it today.
