"Hard times create Strong men. Strong men create Good times. Good times create Weak men. Weak men create Bad times." His book Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History may explain much about of various forms of [[Culture]] rise and fall. ![[Ibn Khaldun.jpeg]] [[Ibn Khaldun]] is widely acknowledged as a **major forerunner** of sociology and is even considered by many scholars to be the **founding father of the discipline**, centuries before its formal establishment in Europe.  His most famous work, _The Muqaddimah_ (written in 1377), provides a systematic and analytical study of human civilization and social phenomena, which predated the work of the Western scholar Auguste Comte (often known as the "father of modern sociology") by over 400 years.  Key Sociological Contributions - **A New Science of Society**: Ibn Khaldun explicitly identified and defined a new, independent science dedicated to the study of human society and civilization, which he called _ilm al-'umran_ (the science of human social organization or culture). - **Scientific Method**: He was a pioneer in applying empirical observation, critical analysis, and the identification of cause-and-effect relationships to the study of history and social dynamics, much like the methods used in natural sciences. - **Social Cohesion (_Asabiyyah_)**: He developed the influential theory of _Asabiyyah_, or social solidarity/group feeling, to explain the rise and fall of dynasties and empires. He argued that strong social bonds were essential for a group's success and that their inevitable decline with urban life led to societal collapse. - **Cyclical Theory of Civilizations**: He proposed a dynamic, cyclical theory that societies and civilizations go through natural stages of growth, flourishing, decline, and collapse, much like a living organism. - **Branches of Sociology**: His work in _The Muqaddimah_ covered various subfields, including political sociology, urban sociology, economic sociology, and educational sociology.  While Auguste Comte is credited with coining the term "sociology" and formalizing the academic discipline in the 19th century, many modern thinkers and historians recognize Ibn Khaldun's earlier and profound contributions that laid the intellectual groundwork for the social sciences. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`