Who originally propounded the theory of three stages of social development?

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Correct — D, Auguste Comte. The French thinker Auguste Comte (1798–1857), widely regarded as the founder of sociology and of positivism, propounded the 'Law of Three Stages' (loi des trois états): he held that human thought — and society with it — necessarily passes through a theological (or fictitious) stage, a metaphysical (or abstract) stage, and finally a positive (or scientific) stage. In the positive stage, explanation by gods or abstract essences gives way to observation and reasoning about natural laws, the basis of his 'positive philosophy'.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Marx proposed a materialist theory of historical stages based on modes of production (primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism) — not the theological–metaphysical–positive 'three stages' of Comte.  (b) Parsons, a 20th-century American sociologist, is associated with structural functionalism, the AGIL scheme and pattern variables — not with the law of three stages.  (c) Spencer did develop an evolutionary sociology (militant vs industrial society) and the 'survival of the fittest' idea, but the specific theory of three stages of intellectual/social development is Comte's, not Spencer's.

Concept: Auguste Comte coined the term 'sociology' and founded positivism — the view that genuine knowledge comes from observed, verifiable facts and the laws connecting them. His central 'Law of Three Stages' claims that each branch of knowledge, and human society as a whole, evolves through a theological stage (phenomena explained by supernatural beings), a metaphysical stage (explained by abstract forces or essences) and a positive stage (explained by scientific laws derived from observation).

State PCS 2021 Q71 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q71 — History PYQ with Answer