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From Comte to Bauman: A Timeline of Sociology’s Greatest Minds

 Introduction

In simplest of terms, the evolution of sociology is rooted in the visions of various individuals who wanted to study human behavior, the formulation of societies, and the reasons behind their transformation. From the 1800s and until now, such thinkers have provided us with unparalleled insights.

Instead of stating the thinkers pretending in form of paragraphs, given below is the efficient timeline of all the prominent thinkers and the pivotal milestones in sociology.

  1. The First Thinkers (1800s)



Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) and Max Horkeimer (1895-1969) – During the early 1800s, known to be the pioneers of sociological research and the inter-war period.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) – Credited to be ‘The Father of Sociology’, he asserted the fact that society can be studied scientifically.

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) – The first female sociologist who passionately fought social injustice and marked an active interest in the disenfranchised groups.

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) – The author was famous for his novel ‘Survival of the fittest, proving society and nature to be interconnected.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) with Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) – These individuals expressed their thoughts with regards to economic impacts on society, talking about sociological aspects of class the society perceives to be struggle.

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) – A well renowned laissez-faire economist known for his astonishing discovery of social links and their influence to society.

Max Weber (1864-1920) – Famous for his studies on capitalism, he looked at various organizations and authority during that period.

Georg Simmel (1858-1918) – Was known for his sociology studies and his work on human small social activities and human behavior.


2. The Mid-Century Minds (1900s)





Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) – Considered the society as a system with interdependent parts functioning cohesively. 

Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) – Offered insight into the phenomenon of social norms disorganization.

C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) – Educated many on how to relate personal troubles to larger social structures. 

Harold Garfinkel (1917–2011) – Conducted studies on the unwritten societal rules that govern people’s behavior.

Erving Goffman (1922–1982) – Offered the metaphor of a stage for life and people as actors who play parts.


3. Modern-Day Thinkers





Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) – Offered an explanation on the mechanisms of culture and education as social reproducing structures of inequality. 

Immanuel Wallerstein (1930–2019) – Focused on global inequality in relation to the world economy.

Zygmunt Bauman (1925–2017) – Described the world as a “liquid” entity of perpetual flux.

Anthony Giddens (1938– ) – Demonstrated the duality of structure, how society and individuals mutually influence one another.

Manuel Castells (1942– ) – Discusses the implications of the internet and modern technology on society.

Judith Butler (1956– ) – Contests the conventional frameworks of gender and identity.


Why This Timeline Matters

Thinkers from Comte who believed in the scientific study of society to Butler and her gender theories exemplify how our perspectives have shifted. Their ideas are helpful in understanding the current time – and potentially predicting what’s to come.



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Auguste Comte The Father of Sociology and Founder of Positivism Key Insights on Auguste Comte The Founder of Sociology Auguste Comte (1798–1857) is known as "the father of sociology" for creating the term and establishing it as a scientific discipline, although some scholars emphasize the role of Emil Durkheim in subsequent institutionalization. The philosophy of his positivism, which prioritizes empirical, scientific knowledge over spiritual or religious interpretations, laid the foundation of modern social sciences and influenced thinkers such as John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer. Comte's "three-phase law" - religious, metaphysical and positive - suggests human thoughts and society evolve towards scientific rationality, a concept that has launched debate due to its deterministic attitude of progress. While his early works focused on the rational reorganization of society, his later "religion of humanity" introduced a secular belief focused on altr...