Question

According to Auguste Comte, sociology is closest to which subject ?

• A. Anthropology
• B. Social Anthropology
• C. Biology
• D. Physics

Hint:

To remember Comte's hierarchy, think of it as a ladder of complexity: from the non-living (Physics, Chemistry) to the living (Biology) and finally to the social (Sociology). Each step depends on the one before it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question refers to Auguste Comte's "Hierarchy of Sciences," a key concept in his positivist philosophy that organizes scientific disciplines based on their complexity and historical development.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Comte arranged the sciences in a specific order, from the most general and simple to the most particular and complex. Each science in the hierarchy depends on the laws of the science below it. His hierarchy is as follows:
1. Mathematics
2. Astronomy
3. Physics
4. Chemistry
5. Biology
6. Sociology
According to this hierarchy, Sociology is the "Queen of Sciences" as it is the most complex and the last to develop. It rests directly on the foundations of Biology, the science of living organisms. Comte often used biological analogies to describe society (e.g., social statics and dynamics as equivalent to anatomy and physiology), further highlighting the close relationship he saw between the two disciplines.
Step 3: Final Answer:
In Auguste Comte's hierarchy of sciences, sociology is placed immediately after biology, making it the subject to which sociology is closest.