classical social theory - emile durkheim

Emile Durkheim

• the father of modern FRENCH sociology who influenced many of the social sciences in France

• contributed to structuralist perspective, the mode of analysis which is today called functionalism and sociological methodology

Major works

1. Suicide

2. The division of labor in Society

3. The elementary forms of religious life

The French society in which Durkheim lived was a society which was still

emerging

It was still a fragile and embattled

political structure

France was slow in recovering from the wounds of the lost war with

Germany

Although there were peaceful times, the social order continued to be unstable, the society was in the state of “____”, or in transition

becoming

Durkheim was virtually preoccupied with the study of transition and sought after the ____ to the disorder of the moder French society

solution

Like comte and spencer, Durkheim considered societies existing as ___ made up of interrelated social elements.

systems

He considered social systems as ___ entities (including the collective values - consensus, agreement)

moral

Durkheim was seriously concerned with social ___, especially moral order. he had much interest in social order in a ____ society.

order ; moral

Durkheim presents division of labor in society as a moral ____, rather than an economic one.

phenomenon

It implies the ____ between traditional and modern societies.

dichotomy

Durkheim focuses on the moral, ___, and political problems of societies as they change from simple, traditional, agrarian system to modern industrial societies.

legal

Durkheim deals with different forms of social solidarity and different social systems of

morality

He used the before-after model in order to explain social

differentiation

Structural determinism

• human associations lead to patterns of conduct.

• society imposes limits on human desires and constitutes a regulative forces

• human develop common ways of perceiving, evaluating, feeling, and acting.

The Rules of the sociological method

• pioneer of sociological methodolgy

• durkheim considered that social research should be objective and scientific as much as possible

• sociologists must use a method which is common to all the sciences

Durkheim says: treat social facts as

things

What are social facts?

• refers to the properties of social facts that can’t be reference to the activities, sensitivities or characteristics of individuals

• emerge in social interactions

• suicide rates, fashion, language, customs and manners

• subject matter to sociology

• external to any particular individual

• endure over time

• endowed with coercive power

Social facts are the fabric of society which

arise out of human relationships and associations; property of the group

Social facts exist or occur as real and posses characteristics of THINGS:

1. phenomena which are independent of the observer

2. ascertained only by empirical observation

3. independent of individual will’s

4. can only be studied through external observation from legal codes, statistics, and religious doctrine

5. Social facts are constraining or regulative.

6. Social facts show generality and independence

   1. general in a sense they broadly shared within a group, seperate from their manifestations in individuals

Sanctions

exist to deter violations of their normative foundation

Durkheim established two types of social facts

normal and pathological

normal social fact

widespread or general in society or general to all societies (generality of the phenomenon)

pathological social fact

abnormal, not previously present (international romance conmen)

societe (french word

1. group or collective life

2. group influence on the individual

3. goal purpose or motivating force behind individual than group

4. properties of culture

   1. social organization

mechanical solidarity

• part of the society is comparable to other parts

• likeness of the individual is emphasized and these are compared to rings of an earthworm

• people are bound together by common values and experiences

• individual differences are minimal and the members are alike in their devotion to the common wealth

  • each part is a microcosm of the wider society

organic solidarityy

• division of labor increases and new roles are required, increasing differentiation of units or groupings

• differences between or among groups are emphasized

  • different parts are different but they are dependent on one another

division of labor keeps

society united

Parts of the whole are interconnected, ___, and interrelated

interconnected

Common values tend to be a more general.

underpinning for actual social practices

The forces which bring the change from mechanical to organic solidarity are;

• population increase

  • increase of density of social interaction

anomie

normlessness; without rule
=a property of the social structure
= individuals are left without moral guidance in the pursuit of their own goals

What did durkheim conclude about modern societ

• integration must still be based on broader norms and values

Social solidarity is strong as long as

collective and individual norms are generally accepted

When there is a weakened respect for norms..

a state of anomie follows

Tightly knit social units such as families and religious groups are

weakened and disintegrated in a state of anomie

sui generis

it’s own kind and unique

religion is society divinized and

society is religion

How is religion an integrator of society?

social cohesion, solidarity and integration are acheived

• belief system

• supernatural rewards and punishment

• rituals

What is durkheim’s opinion on the razorbacks?

• razorbacks are the religion of arkansas

• stadium is the cathedral

• mascots = symbol

• hymns: glorify the team

• prayers

• vendors = rituals

durkheim considered that society exists __ and above individuals and is bound by the unwritten rules of some common agreement

over

Societies are assumed to be stable, orderly, and equilibrium

must be kept

Society is a special kind of

organism

Society exists sui generis as a

seperate, independent entityDu

Durkheim was interested in the

characteristics of groups and structures rather than individual attributes

Durkheim is overly

anti-individualistic

comparative method

most useful procedure for establishing sociological proof

comparison is the ultimate foundation of the

scientific method (indirect experiments)c

comparison should be used to study

macro problems at the level of society (division of labor)

the data are secondary data available through public sources;

from judicial rules, moral rules, popular sayings, etc

comparison is indispensable for the attainment of the objectives of science

• separating the “permanent” from the “transient”, “principal” from “secondary”, and “essential” from the “accessory”

comparison is the fundamental bases for determining the causes and effects of

social phenoma (functional analysis)

genetic method

seeks origins of social phenomena.

origins

the most simple sociological condition that is actually known or that beyond which we cannot go at present

The elementary forms of religious life

• durkheim considered religious phenomena as communal than individual

• consider religion as an integrator

• helps maintain the moral unity

• religion is society divinized

• religious phenomena emerges in any society when a separation is made between the profane and sacred

  • united by a common symbol

religious ceremonies bring people together and serve to reaffirm their

common bonds and to reinforce social solidarityCo

Collective effervescence

• refers to a certain frequency, range, duration, and intensity of association

What does collective effervescence include?

1. participation by all members

2. increasingly frequent conduct of some duration

3. interpersonal conditions are gemeinschaft

4. interaction becomes more intense or emotionalized from vital energies released, passion aroused, sensations stronger (circular reaction)

   1. Frenzy or ecstasy is attained

when people celebrate sacred things, they unwittingly celebrate the power of

salvation

unit of analysis

the whole society (holist)

distinctive analogy

organismic analogy

method

comparative method

rate of change

• slow, gradual, step by step, and small amounts of increments

  • BUT in the last decade of his career, Durkheim also considered leap by leap, rapid, and drastic change (revolution, renewal.

Directionality

unilinear; society moves from mechanical to organic solidarity (simple to more complex)m

modus operandi

internal, uniform, necessary, and natural

what methodology did durkheim use in his major works.

• suicide - statistical comparisons

• the division of labor - historical comparisons

  • the elementary forms of religious life - ethnographical comparisons

three types of suicide

egoistic, altruistic, anomice

egoistic suicide

lessens bonds; loners

altruistic suicide

sacrifice due to strong bongan

anomic suicide

less regulation

more integrated the group is

there are less chances of suicide