Emile Durkheim Flashcards
Week Three
“A social fact is every way of being and acting, fixed or not, capable of ———- – ——– ———- – — ———-; in other words, it is that which is general in the whole society, ———– from individual manifestations.”
exercising an external constraint on the individual/ independent
Rules of Sociological Method: Emile Durkheim
-Language
-Norms/Laws
-Religious beliefs
-Norms of dress
-Economic systems
-Social Roles
Examples of social facts:
Rules of Sociological Method: Emile Durkheim
Distinction between normal and pathological social phenomena.
Rules of the Sociological Method: Emile Durkheim
it is widespread, persistent, serves a
function within a society, adaptive, and contributes to social
cohesion.
Normal Social Phenomena: Emile Durkheim
deviates from the norm, is less
common, and disrupts the functioning of society
Pathological Social Phenomena: Emile Durkheim
exists in traditional societies
-People share similar beliefs and values–collective conscience
dominates.
-Individual personalities become subsumed by the collective life.
-Personal rights are less emphasized, and punishment is
repressive.
Mechanical Solidarity: Emile Durkheim
exists in complex, modern societies.
-Based on difference rather than similarity.
-Individuals have unique, complex, and specialized roles and
functions within society.
-Individuals rely on one another to fulfill unique roles.
-Increased sense of individual personality develops.
Organic Solidarity: Emile Durkheim
Emergence of organic solidarity…
-Increased population density brings about an array
of new needs, which leads to specialization.
-By specializing in different tasks, people can
avoid competing for the same resources.
-Individuals can move between roles and find a
role that suits their skills.
-Thus, the division of labor creates a harmonious
society.
Division of Labor Book 2 (Causes and Conditions of
Division of Labor): Emile Durkheim
Anomic Division of Labor
Division of Labor, Book 3 (Pathologies of the
Division of Labor): Emile Durkheim
What is anomie?
a state of normlessness: Emile Durkheim
when individuals are compelled into work that
doesn’t meet their natural talents.
Forced division of labor: Emile Durkheim
Inequalities should reflect natural inequalities.
—– —- can create disharmony.
-Thus, there should be some structure to assure that people do the
things that they are suited for.
Class Wars: Emile Durkheim
According to Durkheim, what type of solidarity is most often found
in “primitive” societies where members are very similar and
homogenous?
Mechanical Solidarity: Emile Durkheim
Durkheim aims to understand what social factors explain why
the ——- rate varies from one society to the next.
——- rates are the result of general characteristics of the
society that produced them.
suicide
-Durkheim’s argues societies with high amounts of integration have fewer suicides.
-Compares Protestants (high suicide rate), Catholics (low), and Jews (low).
-High integration gives sense of community, meaning, and purpose.
-Protestants have more acceptance of free inquiry—whereas other faiths
have religion as a fundamental part of all their life.
-Catholics have religion as a powerful part of their life—tight bonds with
community.
-Jews have been persecuted throughout history, thus, have a strong sense of
community.
-This pattern is found in religious life, domestic life (marriage), and political life.
Egoistic suicide
-Societies in which individuals are excessively integrated
(controlled) have higher suicide rates.
-Durkheim argues that individuals prioritize the interests of the
group over their individual well-being or life itself.
Altruistic Suicide
-Whenever serious rearrangements take place in society, suicide
increases.
-Humans, unlike other animals, have unlimited desires.
-“Nobody can be happy or alive, really, unless their needs are
adjusted to their means.”
-“Our sensibility is a bottomless pit that nothing can fill.”
-Society regulates these desires to a reasonable amount.
-When people feel their social position is justified, they feel satiated.
-“Each person is in harmony with her condition and wants only what
she can legitimately wish for as the normal reward for her activity.
The balance of her happiness is stable because it is defined.”
Anomic Suicide
Durkheim analyzed the simplest religion, focusing on the totemic system of Australian
aboriginal societies, to understand the essence of religious life.
1. Religious ideas are not individual, but collective representations that express shared social realities.
Elementary Forms of Religious Life
- ——– is a symbol
representing our social
bonds.
-Mechanism to celebrate
our relations with one
another.
Totemism: Elementary Forms of Religious Life
