How to Write a Sociology Paper on Comte
Research a Paper Without Buying a Book
Auguste Comte (1798-1857) was born and educated in France. His project to set sociology, a term Comte coined, on a foundation of positive scientific methodology. By doing this Comte hoped to established sociology as an academic discipline. Comte believed that society evolved through three stages and the highest stage was characterized by individuals who gather knowledge through observation and affirmed this observation through scientific method. The process allowed individuals to identify problems in the world and properly govern themselves. Comte’s most important works are Course on Positive Philosophy and System of Positive Polity. Comte’s ambition was to construct sociology so it could be an academic disciple. He did not accomplish this feat. This was left for Emile Durkheim to accomplish.
Selecting an Area of Interest for Your Sociology Paper
One of the biggest mistakes undergraduates make when planning a paper is they do not narrow down their topic enough. Make sure to focus a specific area in you paper. Below are some suggestions and some helpful hints.
Positivist Sociology: A good topic. Even though positivism is a considered a relic of the past there is no denying the influence of Comte and scientific method on sociology. The use and presentation of data in sociological papers gives research the feel of mathematical certainty that Comte wish to impose on social theory. If you go to Google Scholar you can view two excellent books that cover this subject; Key Ideas in Sociology by Martin Slattery and Auguste Comte and Positivism: The Essential Writings edited by Gertrude Lenzer.
A Word of Warning: Stay away from Course on Positive Philosophy and System of Positive Polity. These multi-volume works can suck the life out of an undergraduate.
Mistakes to Avoid: Comte is not the first sociologist. He just coined the term.
Sociology as a Discipline: Great topic. Though Comte failed at establishing sociology as a discipline he did make a great contribution. This paper would be about how far Comte brought the idea along, the work of Herbert Spencer, and how Durkheim made it happen. A Short History of Sociology by Harry M. Johnson and Heinz Maus covers this topic in the first 35 pages and the text in available online through Google Scholar.
Mistakes to Avoid: It is interesting to add information about sociology and its start in America to your paper. However, there are many different claims as to which school in America offered the first sociology class and which one established the first sociology department. To prevent any mistakes search Craig Calhoun’s Sociology in America at Amazon.com.
Comte's Friendship with J.S. Mill: Great topic to show your range. Will need biographical and theoretical understanding of Comte and Mill. See Comte and Mill by Thomas Whittaker and The Correspondence of John Stuart Mill and Auguste Comte edited by Oscar A, Haac is available online through Google Scholar.
A Word of Warning: You will need to do a lot of reading to get a good feel for this subject. The two men exchange letters for over five years.
Mistakes to Avoid: Comte and Mill never met.
Books and Sources on Comte
The online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a great overview of Comte. This is a good place to start. The Introduction to Positive Philosophy is an 80 page book taken from Comte’s Course on Positive Philosophy and gives a good picture of Comte’s writing on positivism and does Auguste Comte and Positivism by J.S. Mill. Remember to use text search on Amazon.com to find your topics. Global Oneness has a great site to gather online resources for Comte. If your college gives you access the J-Stor or EBSCO databases there are a number articles that summarize Comte’s work and cites many other sources.
Remember to include some critiques of Comte in your paper.
Best Tools for Writing a Sociology Paper without a Book
The Gutenberg Project has many full text books available and searchable online.
Amazon.com allows you to search many academic books online.
Google Scholar has many books online available for full or limited preview.
Professors love to put many of their class notes, new ideas, and old papers online.
If your college provides you with J-Stor or EBSCO access there are numerous papers available that summarize a thinker’s works and contributions. If you have access to EBSCO Research Starters even better. This site summarizes topics specifically for undergraduates.
One last hint: Talk to your professor about Comte and get their opinion. Comte has been criticized for pushing the scientific approach too far. The last thing you want to do is write a paper about a sociologist your professor finds unappealing.
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