In order to study anything, one must begin by making some assumptions about the nature of what is studied. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that the universe was run according to the whims of the gods. By contrast, all scientists assume that the universe is orderly, and operates in certain regular ways which we may be able to discover. Thus, Newton developed the laws of gravity after observing that apples always fall down, never up. A working set of assumptions is called a "perspective," an "approach". What are some of the perspectives used in sociology?
 
The Evolutionary Perspective 
 The evolutionary perspective is the earliest theoretical perspective in sociology. Based on the work of August Comte (1798-1857) and Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), it seemed to offer a satisfying explanation of how human societies originate and grow. After a few decades it fell from favor, and is now once again becoming fashionable.
Sociologists using the evolutionary perspective look for patterns of change and development appearing in different societies, to see whether any general sequences can be found. They might wonder, for example, whether Chinese Communism will develop in the same way as Russian Communism, which gained power three decades earlier, or whether industrialization will have the same effects upon the family in developing countries that it seems to have had in Western nations. While not the major perspective in sociology, the evolutionary perspective is an active one.

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