Editing Émile Durkheim (section)

=== Comte ===
A fundamental influence on Durkheim's thought was the [[sociological positivism]] of [[Auguste Comte]], who effectively sought to extend and apply the [[scientific method]] found in the [[natural science]]s to the [[social science]]s.<ref name="Calhoun2002-104" /> According to Comte, a true social science should stress empirical facts, as well as [[Inductive reasoning|induce]] general [[scientific law]]s from the relationship among these facts. There were many points on which Durkheim agreed with the positivist thesis:

* First, he accepted that the study of society was to be founded on an examination of facts. 
* Second, like Comte, he acknowledged that the only valid guide to objective knowledge was the scientific method. 
* Third, he agreed with Comte that the social sciences could become scientific only when they were stripped of their [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] abstractions.<ref name="Calhoun2002-104" />