Auguste Comte Th e French philosopher
Auguste Comte (1798–1857) coined the term sociology
from the Latin socius (“social, being with
others”) and the Greek logos (“study of ”) to describe
a new science that would engage in the study of
society. Even though he never actually conducted
sociological research, Comte is considered by some
to be the “founder of sociology.” Comte’s theory that
societies contain social statics (forces for social order
and stability) and social dynamics (forces for confl ict
and change) continues to be used, although not in
these exact terms, in contemporary sociology.