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Ibn-e-Khaldun, not Auguste Comte was the father of sociology. Make arguments in favor or against.

Outline

1.     Introduction

2.     Overview of both

3.     How Ibn-e- Khaldun is the father of sociology

4.     Critical Analysis

5.     Conclusion

Introduction: Khaldunism v/s Comtian school of thought as the founder of Sociology

                   The debate between the school of thought of Ibn-e- Khaldun and Auguste Comte pertaining to who was the founder of sociology is an important discourse between the sociological discipline of the East and the West. However, the extent of scientific exploration of the discipline and initiation of sociology in the pre-classical era makes Ibn-e- Khaldun as the founder of sociology.

An overview of Ibn-e- Khaldun and Auguste Comte:

Point of discussion	Ibn-e- Khaldun	Auguste Comte
Era	15th century	18th century
The extent of scientific knowledge	Ibn-e- Khaldun applied scientific laws to society.	Also applied the scientific laws to society.
Evolutionary or structural-functional theorist	Both	Evolutionary in nature.
Pre classical or classical	Preclassical	Classical
Natural social change	Evolutionary depending on Asbabiyah	Law of three stages

 

How Ibn-e- Khaldun was the founder of sociology:

i.                   He was ahead of his time:

The time Khaldun was living in was a pre-classical era whereas the time of Comte was the one in which the scientific rationale of social sciences was gaining currency. Hence, Khaldun’s ilm-ul-Imran was a scientific attempt to apply scientific laws to society.

ii.                 He was both a structural function as well as evolutionary:

The work of Ibn-e- Khaldun was both structural-functional and evolutionary nature i.e. he explained both stability of the society as well as the reasons for the collapse of society.

               Illustration:

a.      Theory of Asbabiyah – structural-functional.

b.     Theory of cyclic change – evolutionary.

August Comte on the other hand explains only the evolutionary nature of society.  

iii.              Influence on later theorists:

Ibn-e- Khaldun exerts great influence on other theorists of the Western school of thought. August Comte’s theory of positivism undoubtedly described the future tragedy of the subject but it was more of a replication of Ibn-e- Khaldun’s ideas.

               

Illustrations:

1.     Durkheim’s theory of social facts and organic and inorganic solidarity reflects similarity with Ibn-e- Khaldun.

2.     His cyclic theory also coincides with the organismic theory given after centuries of his work.

3.     Few aspects of the theory of social construct also depict the features of Ibn-e- Khaldun.

4.     His theory of rejection guided Durkheim.

iv.               Types of societies:

Ibn-e- Khaldun classified the societies into two types i.e. Hazri and Badawae (urban and rural societies) with social changes within them.

 In contrast, Comte used the law of three stages

Religion                          Metaphysical                        Industrial

Khaldun was so advanced that he analyzed all the societies through the scientific theory of logic and Ilm-ul- Imran.

v.                 Modern-day relevance:

Ibn-e- Khaldun’s work was sent to Europe and translated to the translation movement of the 15^th century. He was one of those scholars who sowed the seeds of enlightenment in the west. He is relevant in the modern-day as well.

 

            Illustrations:

1. Comte's theory of positivism does not explain past industrial societies whereas Khaldun's theory of Asbabiyah is still relevant in urban centers.

2.     Social change is more cyclic as predicted by Ibn-e- Khaldun. The cyclical nature of power illustrates this.

Critical Analysis

                   In reality, Ibn-e- Khaldun is the founder of sociology. He did not use the word positivism but his theory of logic was scientific. Furthermore, he was the first of his kind to analyze societies in a much more scientific way just like natural science.

Conclusion

                   Owing to the Western monopoly over knowledge, they claim August Comte as the founder of sociology and start the academic development of knowledge from the classical era. However, Ibn-e- Khaldun’s efforts and services towards Ilm-ul- Imran cannot be denied.