Final answer:
Auguste Comte introduced the law of three stages, with the final stage being the Positivist Stage. Comte's sociological theories emphasized the scientific study of society and he is credited with founding sociology as a scientific discipline. The Metaphysical Stage is actually the second stage in his framework, not the first which involves supernatural attributions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Auguste Comte referred to the first three stages of historical development in which people know the world in terms of God's will as the Metaphysical Stage is incorrect. In fact, Comte described the development of societies through what he called the law of three stages. The first stage, known as the Theological Stage, is where people attributed the events of life to supernatural forces. The second stage Comte called the Metaphysical Stage, where people began to understand that human efforts and natural forces were largely responsible for the events, though they still acknowledged supernatural forces. The third and final stage, known as the Positivist Stage, is where people moved away from the supernatural and metaphysical explanations towards a scientific understanding of the natural world and society. In this stage, Comte believed that humanity would reject religion in favor of empirical science—and this would be the approach in positivism, focusing only on phenomena that can be objectively observed and measured.
Comte's influence extended beyond his theory of societal development; he is also credited with establishing sociology as a distinct field of study. His proposition that society could be studied empirically, like a natural organism, and that this study could lead to human progress, is foundational to the discipline. Despite foreseeing challenges in the transition to positivism due to the comforting structures of religion, Comte himself founded a church based on his ideas, offering a framework for what we now recognize as secular humanism.