If sociology is not to be a mere game, it must explore the past of human society in order to understand the present and illuminate the future; for every true science adheres to Comte's principle: to know in order to predict, to predict in order to prevent. As a research method suitable for this purpose, I consider the phaseological method. It involves breaking down cultural development into sections - phases; by comparing the individual developmental phases with one another, one discovers the guiding lines of progress, i.e., lines that run through the entire course of phases and show us in which direction culture is moving. From these guiding lines, the laws of direction can ultimately be derived, in connection with the exploration of the developmental stages of humanity.