Understanding the Origin of Sociology

The question asks about the specific year when the term "Sociology" was first introduced. Understanding the history of academic disciplines is crucial to grasping their development.

Auguste Comte and the Birth of Sociology

The word "Sociology" is credited to the French philosopher Auguste Comte. Comte is widely regarded as the founder of Sociology as a distinct social science.

Comte aimed to create a science of society that could discover the laws governing human social behavior, similar to how natural sciences discover laws governing the physical world. He initially referred to this new science as "social physics," but he later changed the name to avoid confusion with existing statistical studies.

The Year Sociology Was First Used

Auguste Comte first used the term "Sociology" in his seminal work, "Cours de Philosophie Positive" (Course in Positive Philosophy). This multi-volume work was published over several years.

The term Sociology specifically appeared in the fourth volume of this work.

The year the term Sociology was officially coined and used by Auguste Comte was 1838. This year marks a significant point in the formal establishment of Sociology as a field of study.

Evaluating the Options

Let's look at the given options in the context of when the word Sociology was first used:

• Year 1832: This year is too early; Comte had not yet introduced the term Sociology.
• Year 1835: This year is also too early for the coining of the term.
• Year 1838: This is the year Auguste Comte published the volume of his work where he introduced and defined Sociology.
• Year 1840: By this year, the term Sociology had already been used by Comte.

Therefore, based on historical facts about the origin of Sociology, the year 1838 is correct.