SOCB42H3 Lecture 5: Week 5 Lecture
Document Summary
Comte: history/biography, classification of sciences, the nature of sociology tasks a, objects, means, order a. b. c, progress individual family society rate a, direction c. laws. Comte was assistant of sant-simon science and industry lead to scientists and industries. Comte thought that ideas drove history, but sant-simon did not think so, so broke up. Plotted on graph, x-axis = general to specific, y-axis = simple to complex. Order from general/simple to specific/complex = math -> astronomy -> physics -> chemistry. Each science allows us to understand laws to explain events, to know our limits. Social laws we understand things that we cannot do. The nature of sociology (special things that make sociology what it is) Task of sociology is to provide positive scientific understanding of society. Talks about theological explanations and metaphysical explanations. Theological seek explanation for events in will of supernatural being. Metaphysical seek explanation of nature of entities to behave in that way.
