ABSTRACT
The word 'sociology' first appeared in one of the volumes by Auguste Comte, entitled Cours de Philosophie Positive. Comte considered that one could discern the natural development of society in accordance with some law within the history of mankind. According to Comte there were three definite stages in the law which governed such progress: the theological or fictive, the metaphysical or abstract, and the scientific or positive. The 'oyster' of sociology is a large one, and all human activity involving social relationships is the subject-matter for its consideration and research. In addition to general sociology there are such offspring as comparative sociology, economic sociology, sociology of education, historical sociology, industrial sociology, sociology of culture, sociology of knowledge, sociology of law, mathematical sociology, political sociology, sociology of morals, sociology of science, sociology of art and literature, sociology of music, sociology of language, rural sociology, urban sociology, sociology of migration, and so on.
