You have studied about comtes law of three stages of human thought with reference to the first and third stage comment on the challenges it it poses for indian soceity
Answers
Explanation:
Who Was Comte?
When you look up at the night sky, you can see both stars and planets. What do you think the planets are? This probably seems like a weird question - of course you know the planets are big balls of gas or rock that revolve around the sun. But is that the same answer someone would have 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 the nature of society for thousands of years, going all the way back to ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers such as Confucius or Plato. This lesson focuses on a much more modern theorist - a sociologist named Auguste Comte.
Comte is famous for being the person who actually came up with the term 'sociology' way back in 1838 to define the study of society. So what did Comte say about how global society has changed over time?
Three Stages to Society
Ancient people in the theological stage believed the planets were gods.
Planets Gods
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 events in that world as a direct expression of the will of various gods. In other words, ancient people believed that everything around them 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 part of the world of the gods; ancient Greeks believed the sun was one wheel on the massive chariot steered by Apollo. If something bad happened, like a community experienced bad weather or an earthquake, people in the theological stage would explain that event as a god being upset and showing his or her anger to the people. In short, the theological stage meant that people used supernatural or divine explanations to understand society and the world.
Comte's second stage of 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 and events as natural reflections of human tendencies. People in this stage still believed in divine powers or gods, but they believed that these beings are more abstract and less directly involved in what happens on a daily basis. Instead, problems in the world are due to defects in humanity.
An example of thinking in the metaphysical stage is people who believed that the planets were physical objects in space but that they influenced people's lives via astrology. Do you know what astrological sign you are? I was born in March, so I'm a Pisces. According to astrology, I'm supposed to be both imaginative and secretive. The idea here is that societies in the metaphysical stage still believe in some supernatural or magical aspects of life, but they are also rooted in the concrete parts of life.