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Emile Durkheim was deeply concerned with the impact of the large-scale structures of society, and society itself.
Durkheim said that sociology was born in France even though he recognized the roots in the ancient philosophers (Plato, Aristotle). He thought that his more proximate sources in French philosophers such as Montesquieu and Condorcet didn’t go far enough, but Comte perfected all their ideas.
Even though the term SOCIOLOGY had been known by Comte years earlier, in the XIX century there were no schools, departments, or even professors.
The major levels of social reality in Durkheim’s work:
A. Material Social Facts
1. Society
2. Structural components of society (ex: church and state)
3. Morphological components of society (ex: population distribution, channels of communication, and housing arrangements)
B. Non material Social Facts
1. Morality
2. Collective conscience
3. Collective representations
4. Social currents
He based his work in the conception of 2 types of society:
The more primitive type, characterized by mechanical solidarity, has undifferentiated social structure, with little or no division of labor.
The more modern type characterized by organic solidarity has a much more refined division of labor
A society with mechanical solidarity is unified because all people are generalists. Their bond is that they are all engaged in similar activities and responsibilities. Opposite to a society characterized with organic solidarity is held together by the differences among people, by the fact that they have different tasks and responsibilities
Because in modern society performs specifics tasks, they need many other people in order to survive. A family headed by father-hunter and mother-food is practically self-sufficient, but the modern family needs the grocer, baker, teacher, auto mechanic, etc
In the division of labor in society, it is law and the differences between law in societies with mechanical solidarity and law with organical solidarity, that plays this role. Furthermore, in a society characterized by mechanical solidarity the collective conscience basically covers the entire society and all its members, it is believed with great intensity. In a society characterized by organical solidarity the collective conscience is much more limited, it’s a society which is best described by the phrase “moral individualism”, in other words the elevation of the importance of the individual to a moral precept
Another material social fact is the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity- dynamic density. This concept refers to the number of people in a society and the amount of interaction between them. A significant factor in societal change is an increase in numbers of people and an increase in the interaction among them (dynamic density) that leads to a change from mechanical to organic solidarity. Because together they bring more competition. Individuals, groups, families, tribes, perform virtually identical functions.
Modern society
Organic solidarity
1) Where Durkheim was born?
a) Paris b) Epinal c) Nice d) Rennes
2) Which of these works isn't by Durkheim?
Pre-modern Society
Mechanic solidarity
a) The division of labour in society b) Capital, Volume I
c) Suicide d)The elementary forms of religious life
3) Nowadays, there is a rise of individualism?
a) Yes b) No
2 types of social facts: material and non material
Is material so far as to become an element of the external world( architecture and the law)
Values and norms, or more generally culture, are good examples of what Durkheim meant by non material social facts. We have to think of them as external to, coercive of, psychological facts.
To analyze relationships among these phenomena. Durkheim starts to organize them into levels of social reality.
4) According to Durkheim, what form of suicide is most likely to occur during boom times?
a) Egoistic b) Altruistic
c) Anomic d) Fatalistic
Although some repressive law continues to exist in a society with organic solidarity, we can take the example of the death penalty.
So, we can say that with the restitutive law, the common morality is not strong. Indeed, it is in the hands of specialized agencies like the police or the courts.
Fut her more, we see a rise of individualism thanks to the division of labor.
•Durkheim interest in moral problems. People were in danger of pathological loosening of moral bonds, that means that for him, moral bonds in a society are very important to live in peace.
Individuals need morality and external control to be free. The central pathology in modern society was the anomic division of labor. He believed that the structural division of labor in modern society is a source of social cohesion.
•Furthermore, we see a rise of individualism by the specialization in different activities during labor. We can found this concept in the Durkheim’s artwork Suicide.
Repressive law: Durkheim’s thought is that, in our society there is 2 types of solidarity. That means, the first is the mechanical solidarity is characterized by the repressive law. People are very similar in this type of society because they have a very strong common morality. Indeed, they have sales opinions or the same way of thinking. The repressive law means that to be severely punished for any action that is considered an offense against the collective moral system. The repressive law is in the hand of the society.
Restitutive law: In contrast, a society with organic solidarity is characterized by restitutive law. That means instead of being severely punished for offenses against the collective morality, individual is more modern in this type of society. People are likely simply to be asked to comply with the law and repay, make restitution to those who have been harmed by their action.