Auguste Comte is widely regarded as the father of sociology. He was a French philosopher who lived during the early 19th century. Comte was the first to coin the term "sociology" and proposed that society should be studied scientifically, similar to the natural sciences.
He emphasized that society could be analyzed through observation and reason, and believed that sociology could improve society by identifying the laws of social behavior. His work laid the foundation for modern sociology by establishing it as a distinct scientific discipline.
Although Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Émile Durkheim made significant contributions to sociology, Comte is credited with being the first to systematically study society and establish sociology as a field. Marx focused on class struggles, Weber on the role of ideas and bureaucracy, and Durkheim on social solidarity and functionalism. However, Comte's role as the founding father remains undisputed.