Social Evolution

Social Evolution

Introduction

This essay will compare and contrast the views of Herbert Spencer, Auguste Comte, George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx on their views of social evolution and progress. The essay will also throw light on the differences of opinion that the above mentioned personalities had on the topic of the different stages of evolution that that sociology underwent.

Discussion

The View of Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer was born in April 1820. He was an English biologist, philosopher and a sociologist. He was also one of the classical liberal political theorists of the famous Victorian era. Spencer developed the concept of evolution as a progressive development of the biological organisms, the physical world, human culture, the human mind and the societies. He was one of the most enthusiastic and energetic exponent of the concept of evolution. He even wrote about evolution long before Charles Darwin did. He contributed to a large number of subjects including religion, ethics, sociology, economics, anthropology, philosophy, biology, political theory and psychology. Spencer is most famous for giving the concept of "survival of the fittest". He did this in 1864 in his book Principles of Biology. He extended the concept of natural selection to the field of sociology and ethics. Spencer read the theories and writings of Auguste Comte. He was not convinced with the positivism of Comte (David 1908). He rejected the ideological concepts of Comte and attempted to reformulate the concept of social sciences and linked it to the phenomenon of evolutionary biology. Spencer's ideology about sociology can be clearly defined as socially Darwinist. Spencer developed the idea of two types of societies. The first one was the industrial society, and the second was militant society. The industrial society was based on contractually assumed obligations which were voluntary. These obligations were differentiated and complex. On the other hand, the militant society was based on relationships dependent on obedience and hierarchy. Such a society was undifferentiated and simple. Spencer considered society as a unit form which the social organisms evolved. The social organisms evolved from ordinary beings to complex ones under the laws of evolution. Although, the work of Spencer was highly appreciated, and he contributed to the early concepts of sociology. However, he did not get much fame on the concept of introducing the idea of Lamarckism and Darwinism into sociology.

Auguste Comte's View

Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte was born in 1798. He was a French philosopher and was the first person to provide and define the concept of sociology. He was also the founder of the concept and doctrine of positivism. Auguste Comte presented the account of social evolution and proposed that in the quest for truth, a society can undergo three phases. This was called the law of three stages. The idea that Comte presented was somewhat similar to the view of Karl Marx. They were both influenced by Henry de Saint Simon, who was an early Utopian socialist. Henry was one of teachers of Comte. First of the three stages that ...