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Did Ibn Khaldun invent sociology, or is that a modern compliment?

Youssef Benali Fellow
· 3 replies · 175 views
Scientific methodIslamicIbn Khaldun#historiography#sociology
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Ibn Khaldun called his new science 'ilm al-'umran, the science of human social organisation or civilisation. He looked for regular causes behind historical events: climate, economy, group solidarity, the transition from nomadic to urban life.

Many modern writers call him the founder of sociology, centuries before Auguste Comte coined the word in the 1830s. But others say this is anachronistic: his science served a historian's purpose, and it was embedded in a religious worldview.

What makes something "sociology"? And does it matter whether we give Ibn Khaldun the title?

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3 answers

  1. Layla Haddad

    Fellow

    The title is a compliment that can also be a cage. If we call him a sociologist, we read him for what anticipates Durkheim and ignore the rest, including his theory of prophecy and his discussions of the Sufis. I'd rather say he founded a science that has no exact modern equivalent.

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  2. Javier Morales

    Fellow

    In my field he's a founder of economics too, for his labour theory of value and his analysis of taxation and division of labour. Every discipline wants him. I suspect that's a sign of how original he was rather than of which discipline he belongs to.

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  3. Emeka Nwosu

    Fellow

    From a scientist's view, what matters is his method: looking for general causes and testing reports against what's possible. That's the core of any empirical science. Whether the result is called sociology seems secondary.