Discovering Society, Inventing Sociology: Sieyès and the Revolutionary Origins of the Sciences of Society

This article examines the political and conceptual dynamics in late eighteenth-century France that led to the emergence of “society” as both a framework for collective existence and an object of study, thus marking the birth of sociology. I argue that Sieyès’s pivotal role in coining the term “sociology” during the French Revolution was part of a subversive effort to redefine the relationship between the individual and society, the given and the possible. I analyze how the revolutionaries’ quest for self-institution along with counterrevolutionary reaction constituted a large-scale experiment in the “construction of social reality.” With divine authority dismantled and the arbitrariness of power exposed, critical questions arose: On what principles can new institutions be founded? How can a “society of individuals” truly be a “society”? This period of intense exploration provides an unprecedented sociological and political laboratory, offering valuable insights for citizens and sociologists alike.