Why did Comte regard sociology as the highest science?

Auguste Comte regarded sociology as the highest science because it represented the culmination of his hierarchical classification of the sciences.1

Comte organized the sciences into a pyramid based on the principle that each discipline builds upon the simpler, more abstract principles of those below it, moving toward increasingly complex and concrete phenomena. In this hierarchy, sociology sits at the pinnacle, following mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology.12

Comte believed that sociology was uniquely equipped to synthesize the entirety of human knowledge. By reducing social facts to scientific laws—much like gravitational theory explained the movement of heavenly bodies—sociology would provide the necessary framework to guide social planning and the reconstruction of society. Consequently, he viewed this discipline as the essential tool for achieving a stable, modern industrial society and for replacing outdated theological and metaphysical modes of thought with positive, empirical knowledge.12