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Emile Durkheim

Relevance/Connection to Sociology Today

The Rules of

Sociological method

Famous Works

  • Following Scientific Method
  • How we collect an analyze data
  • Differentiating Sociology from Psychology and Philosophy
  • Studying Social Facts
  • Relations of Social Facts
  • Reducing Subjectivity

Collective Consciousness

...is the set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.

  • Group-Think
  • Relation to Internet today
  • Recent Studies
  • Believed that each society is a part of a sui generis reality: a reality unique to itself and irreducible to its composing parts
  • “It is created when individual consciences interact and fuse together to create a synthetic reality that is completely new and greater than the sum of the individual.”
  • Developed a sociological methodology around the scientific study of “social facts”: the elements of collective life that exist independently and are able to exert influence on the individual
  • Published several articles and reviews on top of four books, many of his lectures were published posthumously

Suicide Research

  • Before/After Durkheim
  • Systematic Approach
  • Holistic Views

Suicide (1897)

  • Sociology was not seen as an independent field at the beginning of his studies
  • Much of his work used sociological approaches to analyze topics that had initially been reserved for philosophical investigation
  • In 1898, Emile Durkheim founded the Annee Sociologique: the first journal in France focusing solely on social sciences
  • Spent some time bringing awareness to the hostility among Christians towards Jews

The Rules of Sociological Method (1895)

  • Discusses the popularity of suicide and the causes that our society puts upon us
  • Talks about the impact suicide has on the victim, family, and society
  • Argues that suicide is most commonly the result of the isolation of a person from the rest of society

  • Emphasizes the distinction between the natural and social sciences
  • Supports the combination of natural and social sciences for psychological purposes

Contributions

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912)

The Division of Labor in Society (1893)

  • Questions the origin of religion and breaks it into five components:
  • Animism
  • Naturism
  • Totemism
  • Myth
  • Ritual
  • Uses an archaic religion as a base form of reference for analyzing all religions
  • Believed it was the best approach in properly understanding the religious nature of man as well as the essential and permanent aspect of humanity
  • Expands on the idea that religion, philosophy, and morals are all developed by the collective mind of society

  • Presents a reconception of the social structures of production and allocation as well as their roles in society
  • Questions how individualism could be maintained in a capitalist society

"Father of Sociology"

  • Durkheim attempted to establish sociology as a real science
  • Helped establish and define field of sociology as a science
  • Focused on Social Facts, which he defined as:

Examples include:

  • Rates (Birth, Crime, Suicide, Marriage, Substance abuse)

Functionalist perspective:

  • Society's parts are interrelated & dependent.
  • There is a "normal" way that society functions, an equilibrium.
  • If out of order, the other parts will adjust to achieve that equilibrium.
  • More generally: Laws, Religion, Language/Ethnicity, Family roles, etc.

"Any way of acting, whether fixed or not, capable of exerting over the individual an external constraint.

Or

Which is general over the whole of a given society whilst having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations."

These form the basis of most sociological studies, including Durkheim's own: Division of Labor, Religion, Suicide rates (all social facts)

Suicide Theories

Deviance Theories

  • Crime and punishment are necessary and helpful
  • Deviance is bound to occur
  • Punishment provides socialization
  • Deviants unite people in dislike towards social change

Biographical Sketch

Work Cited

Early Life

Career and Life

  • Born in 1858 into a conservative Jewish family
  • Father was a Rabbi
  • He was expected to be one too
  • Durkheim began schooling to be a Rabbi
  • Changed schools, deciding not to follow family's path
  • Studied at ‘Lycee Louis le Grand
  • Entered École Normale Supérieure in 1879
  • Guided by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
  • Classicist
  • Social scientist
  • In 1882, passed his aggregation and began to teach philosophy
  • In 1885, left for Marburg, Berlin and Leipzig to study social science
  • "The Division of Labor In Society" (1892)
  • Made him famous in France
  • In 1887, he taught the first social science course at the University of Bordeaux
  • Reformed French school system
  • His lectures were required to attend by entire student body
  • Also influenced new generations of teachers
  • In 1897, married Louise Dreyfus
  • Had 2 children, Marie and Andre
  • "The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life" (1912)
  • Devoted himself to cause of national defense when World War I began

Laguna, Theodore De. "The Sociological Method of Durkheim." The Philosophical Review 29.3 (1920): 213-25. Web.

Carls, Paul. "Émile Durkheim (1858—1917)." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2015. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/>.

De Laguna, Theodore. The Sociological Method of Durkheim. 3rd ed. Vol. 29. N.p.: Duke UP, 1920. The Philosophical Review. JSTOR. Web. 13 May 2015.

White, David. Inter-Dependent Relationships. Digital image. Structural Functionalism: Definition, Theory & Examples. Study.com, n.d. Web. <http://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/interdependent.png>.

Agarwal, Priya. "What Are the Major Contributions of Emile Durkheim to Sociology?" What Are the Major Contributions of Emile Durkheim to Sociology? Preserve Articles, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015.

Johansson, Arthur. "Emile Durkheim." Emile Durkheim. N.p., 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 06 May 2015.

Mason, Timothy. "Durkheim on Deviance." Durkheim on Deviance. California State University, 4 Nov. 2001. Web. 13 May 2015.

Odell Korgen, Kathleen, and Jonathan M. White. The Engaged Sociologist. 4th ed. N.p.: Sage Publications, 2014. Print.

Late Life

  • His son Andre was killed at the Balkan Front in 1916
  • Constant grief weakened him and his spirit
  • Durkheim died in 1917 from a stroke

Goldney, Robert D., Johan A. Schioldann, and Kirsten I. Dunn. "Suicide Research before Durkheim." Health and History 10.2 (2008): 73. Web.

Crossman, Ashley. "The Study Of Suicide." About.com. About Education, 2009. Web. 20 May 2015.

Emirbayer, Mustafa. "Durkheim's Contribution to the Sociological Analysis of History." Sociological Forum 11.2 (1996): 263-84. JSTOR. Web. 20 May 2015.

Carls, Paul. "Emile Durkheim.” Encyclopedia of Philosophy. University of Montreal.

Elwell, Frank. "Emile Durkheim's Major Works." RSUFaculty.

Barberis, D. "Emile Durkheim's Life and Works (1857-1917)." UChicago.

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