Comte's linear theory of social change in English|Linear theory of social change

Linear Theory Of Social change 

This theory states that change takes place in a linear manner. The direction of social change is from worse to better, simple to complex and backward to modern. In other words, according to linear theory, social change is evolutionary; it is always towards the better way until perfection is achieved. Comte, Spencer and Hobhouse are its main proponents.

Auguste Comte's linear theory of social change- 

Auguste Comte is the Father of sociology. His theory on the ‘laws of three stages’ talked about social change in terms of evolution of the society. He felt that the human mind, all knowledge, human beings and the entire world history developed through these three stages According to Comte, societies can be seen developing through three different stages of evolution/development. They are as follows:

(i) The theological stage

(ii) The metaphysical stage

(iii) The positive stage

1) Theological stage was the first stage in which a man tried to understand various incidents in the context of God and religion and it was believed to be the basis for every activity in the world.This stage was sub-divided into three sub-stages: 

 I) Fetishism is a major stage of the theological stage. Also known as animism, int his stage, people believe that inanimate objects have living spirits in them. For Example, people worshipping non-living objects like trees, stones, water, volcanic eruptions, and so on.

II) Polytheism is the belief in many gods. In this stage, people believe that different gods control all natural forces; for example, the god of rain, god of fire, god of air, god of water, god of earth, and so on.

III) Monotheism refers to the belief in one supreme God; everything is attributed to a single entity.

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2) Metaphysical stage was the second stage in which man used to explain incidents on the basis of its qualities, the faith of man in supernatural declined and the intangible power in living beings was made responsible.

3) The positive stage, or the scientific stage, refers to the rational scientific belief which is based on the methods of observation, experiment and comparison. This belief, by establishing cause and effect relationships, relies upon the scientific method. It indicates an intellectual way of understanding the world as it stresses objectivity through classification of data and facts.

Auguste Comte maintained that each stage of the development of human thoughts necessarily grew out of the preceding one. Only when the previous stage exhausts itself does the new stage develop. He also correlated the three stages of human thought with the development of social organization, types of social order, the types of social units and material conditions found in society. He believes that each successive stage grew out of the preceding one. The constitution of a new system cannot take place until and unless the destruction of the earlier one happens.

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#What is the theory of social change by Auguste Comte?

#What is linear theory of social change in sociology?

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#Linear theory of social change

#Auguste Comte's linear theory of social change