THE
LAW OF THREE STAGES OR THE LAW OF HUMAN PROGRESS
The
law of three stages is in the corner stone of Auguste Comte’s approach. Comte’s
ideas relation to the law of three stages reveal that man is becoming more and
more rational and scientific in his approach by gradually giving up
speculations, imagination etc. He has shown that there is a close association
between intellectual evolution and social progress. The law of three stages is
the stages of mental and social development. It is the co-ordination of
feeling, thought and action in individuals and society. There are three
important aspects of our nature such as our feelings, our thought and our
actions.
Our
feelings- are the emotions and impulses which prompt us.
Our
thoughts – are which undertaken in the service of our feelings but also helps
to govern them.
Our
actions – are which undertaken in the service of our feelings and thought
For
the continuity and existence of society there must be some order of
institutions, values, beliefs and knowledge which can successfully co-relate
the feelings, thought and activity of its members.
In
the history of mankind- during which the social order bringing these elements
into relation with each other has been worked out- three types of solution,
three stages of development can be distinguished.
According
to Comte, each of our leading conception each branch of our knowledge, passes
successively through different theoretical conditions:
1. The Theological or Fictitious
(relies on super natural agencies to explain what man can’t explain otherwise
i.e priests and ruled by military men-it is of three- Fetishism: belief in some
living spirits in the non-living objects, Polytheism: belief in several Gods as
well as natural and Human forces and Monotheism: belief in one God who is
supreme)
2. The Metaphysical or Abstract (man
attributes effects to abstract but poorly understood causes)
3. The Scientific or Positive
(because man now understands the scientific laws which control the world)
Comte
considered his law of three stages based upon belief in social evolution to be
the most important. There has been an evolution in the human thinking, so that
each succeeding stage is superior to and more evolved than the preceding stage.
It can hardly be questioned that Comte’s law of three stages has a strong
mentalistic or idealistic bias. He co-ordinated each mental age of mankind with
its characteristic accompanying social organisation and type of political
dominance. This law appeared in the year 1822 in his book “Positive
Philosophy”.
THE THEOLOGICAL OR
FICTITIOUS STAGE
The
theological stage is the first and it characterised the world prior to 3000.
Here all theoretical conceptions, whether general or special bear a
supernatural impress. At this level of thinking there is a marked lack of
logical and orderly thinking. Overall the theological thinking implies belief
in super natural power. This type of thinking is found among the primitive
races. In theological stage, all natural phenomena and social events were explained
in terms of super natural forces and deities, which ultimately explaining
everything as the product of God’s will. This stage is dominated by priests and
ruled by military men. Human mind is dominated by sentiments, feelings and
emotions. Every phenomenon was believed to be the result of immediate actions
of super natural beings. Explanations take the form of myths concerning spirits
and super natural beings. Man seeks the essential nature of all beings, first
and final causes, origins and purposes of all effects and the overriding belief
that all things are caused by super natural beings. Theology means discourse in
religion. Religion dominates in this state of development. This state is
characterised by conquest. The theological- military society was basically
dying. Priests were endowed with intellectual and spiritual power, while
military exercised temporal authority. It has three sub-stages.
i.
Fetishism, ‘fetish’ means inanimate and
‘ism’ mean philosophy. This is a philosophy which believes that super natural
power dwells in inanimate object. Fetishism as a form of religion started which
admitted of no priesthood. When everything in nature is thought to be imbued
with life, analogous to our own, pieces of wood , stone, skull etc. are
believed to be the dwelling place of super natural powers, as these objects are
believed to possess divine power. But
too many fetishes created confusion for people. Hence they started believing in
several gods. Thus arose polytheism.
ii.
Polytheism, ‘Poly’ means ‘many’. So the
belief in many Gods is called Polytheism. Human being received variety or
diversity of natural phenomena. Each phenomenon was kept under the disposal of
one God. One God was believed to be in charge of one particular natural
phenomenon. In polytheism, there is an unrestrained imagination person the
world with innumerable Gods and spirits. People created the class of priests to
get the goodwill and the blessings of these gods. The presence of too many gods
also created for them mental contradictions. Finally they developed the idea of
one God, i.e. monotheism.
iii.
Monotheism, it means beliefs in one single
god. He is all in all. He controls everything in this world. He is the maker of
human destiny. Monotheism is the climax of the theological stage of thinking.
The monotheistic thinking symbolizes the victory of human intellect and reason
over non- intellectual and irrational thinking. Slowly feelings and
imaginations started giving place to thinking and rationality. In monotheism a
simplification of many gods into one God takes place, largely in the service of
awakening reason, which qualifies and exercises constraint upon the
imagination.
In
theological stage, soldiers, kings, priests etc. were given respect in the
society. Everything was considered in terms of family welfare. Love and
affection binded the members of a family together. In this stage social
organisation is predominantly of a military nature.
METAPHYSICAL OR
ABSTRACT STAGE
The
metaphysical stage started about 1300 a.d and was short lived roughly till
1800. It forms a link and is mongrel and transitional. It is almost an
extension of theological thinking. It corresponds very roughly to the middle
ages and renaissance.
It
was under the sway of churchman and lawyers. This stage was characterised by
defence. Here mind pre-supposed abstract forces. ‘Meta’ means beyond and
physical means material world. Supernatural being is replaced by supernatural
forces. This is in form of essences, ideas and forms. Rationalisation started
growing instead of imagination. Rationalism states that God does not stand
directly behind every phenomenon. Pure reasoning insists that God is an
Abstract being. Under metaphysical thinking it is believed that an abstract
power or force guides and determines the events in the world. Metaphysical
thinking discards belief in concrete God. It is characterised by the dominance
of ‘rationalism’.
In
metaphysical stage speculative thought is unchecked by any other principle.
Human body was considered to be the spark of divinity. This kind of thinking
corresponded with the legal type of society and law, lawyers and churchman
dominated the society. Law remained under the control of the state.
THE POSITIVE OR
SCIENTIFIC STAGE
Finally
in 1800 the world entered the positivistic stage. The positive stage represents
the scientific way of thinking. Positive thought ushers in an industrial age.
The positive or scientific knowledge is based upon facts and these facts are
gathered by observation and experience. All phenomenon are seen as subject to
natural laws that can be investigated by observations and experimentation. The
dawn of the 19th century marked the beginning of the positive stage
in which observation predominates over imagination. All theoretical concepts
have become positive. The concept of God is totally vanished from human mind.
Human mind tries to established cause and effect relationship. Mind is actually
is search of final and ultimate cause. The scientific thinking is thoroughly
rational and there is no place any belief or superstitious in it. This stage is
governed by industrial administrations and scientific moral guides. At this
stage of thought, men reject all supposed explanations in terms either of Gods
or essences as useless. They cease to seek ‘original causes’ or ‘final ends’.
This stage is dominated by the entrepreneurs, technologists’ etc. Unit of
society was confined to the mankind as a whole, vision of mind was broad and
there is no parochial feeling. Kindness, sympathy etc. to the cause of humanity
prevailed. This is the ultimate stage in a series of successive
transformations. The new system is built upon the destruction of the old; with
evolution, come progress and emancipation of human mind. Human history is the
history of a single man, Comte, because the progress of the man mind gives
unity to the entire history of society. For Comte, all knowledge is inescapably
human knowledge; a systematic ordering of propositions concerning our human
experience of the world.
Corresponding
to the three stages of mental progress, Comte identified two major types of
societies. The theological- military society which was dying, the scientific-
industrial society which was being born during his life time. Here the main
stress is on the transformation of the material resources of the earth for
human benefit and the production of material inventions. In this positive or
scientific stage the great thought blends itself with great power.
CRITICISMS
Comte’s
law of three stages have been criticised by different philosophers and
sociologists
According
to Bogardus, Comte failed to postulate a fourth mode of thinking, i.e.
socialised thinking, a system of thought which would emphasise the purpose of
building the constructive, just and harmonious societies. Bogardus also says,
Comte however, should be credited with opening the way for rise of socialised
thinking.
According
to Prof N.S. Timasheff, Comte’s law of three stages could not stand the test of
facts. He opines, ‘neither the later approaches wholly supersedes the religious
approach; rather there has been accumulation and often admixture of the three’.
C.E
Vaughan has said, “But its foundation is purely negative and destructive. It is
powerless to construct and when credited with the ability to do so, it brings
forth nothing but anarchy and bloodshed.”
