 Comte's main sociological law is that every science goes through three stages, which he terms the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive (1853, v. 1, 2).  In the theological stage, scientific explanation is governed by the assumption that natural events are caused by divinities.   In turn,  humans attempt to affect natural outcomes by appealing directly to the gods or  God to take action. The metaphysical stage follows, in which phenomena are  explained by referring to the abstract essences that entities are supposed to possess.  The third phase, the positive phase, explains phenomena by formulating scientific laws and then subsuming individual phenomena under them (2).  Humans cannot change these laws, but they can use their knowledge of them to predict and shape events.  The positive stage is the most modest in its epistemological aspirations.  Unlike the other two, it organizes appearances rather than looking beyond them (v. 1, 2, 4). However, it is the most successful of the three stages in guiding human intervention into nature.  This is no accident, since the same practical concerns that motivate scientific activity drive scientific development.  For Comte, the ultimate motivation for scientific activity is practical: “From Science Comes Prevision: From Prevision Comes Action” (1853, v. 1, 21). 