How did Comte believe the social sciences should study human society?

Auguste Comte, the originator of positivism, believed that human society should be studied using the same scientific methods applied to the natural sciences. He argued that social phenomena could be reduced to laws similar to those governing the physical universe, such as gravitational theory.1

Comte established sociology as the discipline dedicated to this study, viewing it as the culmination of the sciences. He proposed that sociology should be divided into two primary branches:
* Social statics: The study of the forces that maintain social cohesion and hold society together.1
* Social dynamics: The study of the causes and processes of social change.1

Ultimately, Comte believed that by identifying these empirical laws, sociologists could move beyond the "theological" and "metaphysical" stages of thought to a "positive" stage. This scientific approach was intended to be ameliorative, providing the necessary knowledge to guide social planning and the reconstruction of industrial society.12