Describe the stages that Comte believed cultures (and individuals) went through in the way they attempted to explain phenomena.
Auguste Comte was a French philosopher and was a founder of doctrine of positivism. He was more influential in 19th century and influenced the work of few social thinkers. He developed positive philosophy which creates the science of history and human social behavior by using methods of physical sciences. His theory and observation in science and the classification of science into physical and social made him the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of term.
According to Comte, positivism states that empirical observations are responsible for attaining knowledge. He was interested in science only for the reason that it improves the society. Comte’s explanation on positive philosophy has given light to the important relationship between theory, practice and human understanding of the world. He believed that society undergoes three phases, according to the general laws of three stages.
Comte’s three stages are given as follows:
1. Theological- It is the first stage in which society restricts man in reference to God and superstitious beliefs. In this stage, man believed the supernatural power and also in whatever the ancestors taught them.
2. Metaphysical- It involves justification of universal rights, unseen essences, causes, principles and laws. This stage is also referred to as stage of investigation because people started to question and reason without having any solid evidence during that period.
3. Scientific- At this stage, people started to find solutions and solved the social problems. Also, positivism was accepted and science started answering the questions related to natural phenomena.