Three stages of human development, according to Comte, describe three qualitatively different societies, which are based on different values ​​and ideals. The first stage is theological; belief in a single creator god prevails. God is responsible for everything that happens in the world, and people rely on him in case of disasters. The second stage is metaphysical, and it is also tied to the perception of the world as transcendental. However, the figure of God retreats so that nature and some intent control the fate of people. The third stage is scientific; it postulates man’s active search for meaning in the world. The development of the exact social and natural sciences and experiments are characteristic of this period.
Of course, all three stages can exist in one place simultaneously. Society, which is especially clear now, is very heterogeneous, and many people with different views coexist in it (Ritzer, 2011). Beliefs are formed depending on the circumstances in which the person grew up. Each person’s experience is unique; therefore, even in the most high-tech civilizations, you can find whole groups of people professing faith in one or another god. Exactly also can be found in the poorest civilizations groups of people adhering to agnosticism. The question of religion is very intimate for all people, and based on the whole story; each person answers this question personally.
The attitude to war and its justification is a solemn spiritual question, which people have answered in different ways throughout history. The theological stage posits the divine necessity and righteousness of war as it is waged in defense of God. The metaphysical stage can justify war by referring to the nature of man or the heart of the state. Dialectics, struggle – they are sewn into the primordial nature of man and subsequently into the nature of the state since the former created the latter. The third stage, scientific, explains the war as a logical struggle for fertile territories, resources, and even geopolitical dominance.
Reference
Ritzer, G. (2011). Classical Sociological Theory, (6th Ed). Boston: McGraw Hill.