Critic and Target - Term Paper Example

The advancing science and technology resulted in different lifestyles, which definitely changed the group dynamisms. It thus irrelevant to attribute some of Comte’s principles to the life of the American society at the time that the likes of Du Bois lived (Du Bois 5). In his theory of positivism, Auguste Comte, one of the earliest French philosophers, devised a number of psychological theories in an attempt of analyzing the group dynamisms and the behavior of people in groups especially through his social doctrines based on science.

Individual relationship is of essence in sustaining groups, this is a pertinent aspect of philosophy that investigates the group dynamics and the role of group relations in creating the different personalities in people (Comte and Ferre? 21). Different groups exhibit distinct features and are composed of members drawn together by common interests. A number of factors possibilities contributed to his ideas. Psychology is the study of the human mind, different people living in different times and geographical regions therefore exhibit different traits thus mindsets. W. E.

B Du Bois was an American sociologist and a historian who grew up in the American generation of race discrimination. He became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree at Harvard and became a renowned historian. Among the philosophical ideas he learned included some fostered by Auguste Comte. The two grew up in different times and societies; they therefore have different views on psychological features. Making Du Bois a critic of Comte’s works therefore attracts a number of biases based on the different times and societies in which the two lived.

The most important influence of the philosophical theories is the environment in which one lives. People living in different societies experience life differently and therefore form different mindsets. Comte’s theory of positivism became relevant to so many regardless of their societies. In this theory, he devised mechanisms of developing a cohesive society by analyzing the role of different aspects of human life such as religion and the sciences. He thus develops a hierarchy of these factors and their roles in creating a coherent and peaceful society.

Analytically, most of his ideas reflect the society in which he lived. The seventeenth century France comprised of scientists and religion was integral in the lives of the people following the widespread faith in the Roman Catholic and the subsequent rise of the Protestants. Most of Comte’s ideas became essential in analyzing, understanding and therefore pacifying the French revolution. He grew up in the oppressing regimes of the Roman Empire, which thereafter led to the rise and culmination of the revolution.

The unstable political situation in the French then therefore informed most of his theories, his theory of social evolution becomes outdated owing to their affiliations to the tumultuous times in France. Du Bois on the other hand lived in a highly segregated society. Furthermore, he belonged to the marginalized community and therefore faced many challenges. He therefore shares some of the ideologies fostered by Comte (Comte and Ferre? 15). During the time, the United States was undergoing a number of revolutions owing to the racial segregation that threatened the peace of the country.

Under such similar circumstances, the ideas of positivism become relevant in explaining the future