What did Comte mean by social dynamics?

Within the framework of Auguste Comte’s positivism, he divided sociology into two primary branches: social statics and social dynamics.

Comte defined social dynamics as the study of the causes of social change. While social statics focuses on the forces that maintain social cohesion and hold society together, social dynamics examines the laws, forces, and phenomena that drive the evolution and transformation of society over time.12

Comte’s interest in social dynamics was deeply connected to his belief in historical progress and his "law of the three stages," which posited that human intellectual development—and by extension, social organization—evolves through theological, metaphysical, and finally positive stages. By analyzing these dynamics, Comte aimed to establish a scientific basis for social planning, allowing society to be guided toward a more stable and improved future.1