Émile Durkheim 1858-1917
Durkheim's view on society
Questions!
- He lived through rapid social change in Europe
- Had different reasoning than Marx and Weber
- Tradition acts as the social cement that holds people together
1. Why do we look to people we hardly know, and whose beliefs may differ from our own?
- Society exists beyond ourselves and consists of more than just the people that live in it.
- Society is powerful and guides our thoughts and our actions
- Society existed before us, so it shapes us and how we live and will forever.
2. Celebrities live such a lavish life, why do you think some celebrities destroy that?
Function- Society as a System
- Social facts play a big role in the operation of society as a whole
- Crime is necessary in society
- People that commit the wrong acts construct and defend morality (deviance) which provides direction and meaning to our society.
- Crime is normal, "a society could not exist without it. " (1964a; orig.1895, 1964; orig. 1893)
Society
"People who interact in a defined territory and share a culture" (pg 86)
"To love society is to love something beyond us and something in ourselves". (Durkheim 1974:55;Orig 1924)
Suicide Study
social integration= chances of suicide
Personality: Society in Ourselves
more freedom= higher chance of suicide
- Society forms our personality
- thoughts, feelings, actions etc.
- We are in constant danger of being overpowered by our own desires = we need restraint of society
- Society provides a moral discipline
- guides our behavior, controls our desires
- "The more one has, the more one wants"
Modern society- Fewer restrictions on everyone
Evolving Societies
Mechanical Solidarity:
- Strong social bonds
- based on commonalities (Values, interests, hobbies etc..)
Anomie- a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals
- Patterns of celebrities being "destroyed by fame"
- Example: Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan
Organic Solidarity
- bonds between differences
- people rely on others for daily needs
- example: plumbers, transit drivers, teachers
Durkheim believes, "individuals desires must be balanced by the claims and guidance of society."
- difficult to achieve in the modern world
Division of Labour
- People we rely on everyday for their services
- farmers, military, emergency responders
"We depend more and more on people we trust less and less" (page 101)