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Semester 1 > Emile Durkheim > Flashcards

Emile Durkheim Flashcards

1
Q

what was comte attracted to?

A

the enlightenment and the intellectual development it could bring

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2
Q

comte invented positivism which…

A

..observes the fundamental laws of society that underpins everything and followed the success of natural science

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3
Q

comte developed stages of the history of human ideas and understanding, what are these?

A
  • theological
  • metaphysical
  • positive science
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4
Q

what did comte believe about new stages?

A

ideas and structures must be mature before a new stage can develop.

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5
Q

comte believed that there are periods of crisis and conflict..

A

.. during periods of transition

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6
Q

comte believed sociology..

A

.. should search like science for laws

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7
Q

comte coined the term sociology -

A

using scientific techniques of observation and experimentation and durkheim picks this up

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8
Q

what did Calhoun say about Durkheim?

A

he is one the four founding fathers of sociology

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9
Q

durkheim introduced a science of society..

A

.. linked to the enlightenment - emphasis on the significance of reason and human perfectibility and progress which led to industrialisation

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10
Q

who started to introduce sociology as an intellectual discipline?

A

durkheim

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11
Q

durkheim believed science could..

A

.. help reform society

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12
Q

why was durkheim opposed to the significance of inherited wealth?

A

he believed it distorted meritocracy and the social structure

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13
Q

durkheim shared comte’s view that humans have two natures which are?

A
  • biological nature - physical needs rooted in biology
  • social nature - culture which infringes itself on biological nature - constrains/develops etc, our desires are shaped by society
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14
Q

what does durkheim say sociology is the science of?

A

human institutions and human groups, not individuals

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15
Q

what does durkheim say institutions are

A

all the beliefs and modes of conduct

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16
Q

durkheim believed sociology should study ..

A

the effect of the social on humans

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17
Q

it is important to study society since we can..

A

.. do things as a society that we couldn’t do as individuals

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18
Q

what are social facts?

A

external forces at work on human beings. these forces can be anything from physical objects to beliefs and ideas

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19
Q

what are institutionalised norms?

A

things like financial or religious systems

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20
Q

what are non-institutionalised norms?

A

those such as fashions, superstitions, myths and prejudices that affect people.

21
Q

groups are more than a collection of individuals..

A

.. they take on a life of their own.

22
Q

what was Durkheims first major work?

A

the division of labour in society

23
Q

what is the division of labour?

A

a way to try to understand how societies reproduce themselves materially

24
Q

how has the division of labour deepened in modern society?

A

people specialise in certain things

25
Q

in relation to the division of labour what do pre-modern societies have?

A

a greater range of skills where people can do many different things

26
Q

in modern societies division of labour, we are much more interdependent…

A

we rely on people who are skilled in different things and have different skills ourselves

27
Q

what is mechanical solidarity?

A

tends to be pre-modern society

  • institutions like religion massively influence people
  • traditional small scale societies
  • solidarity is usually based on kinship ties
28
Q

what is organic solidarity?

A

tends to be modern societies

  • solidarity comes from the dependence we have on different people for different things - the specialised divisions between institutions
  • social solidarity in these more complex societies is maintained through the interdependence of its component parts
29
Q

what does durkheim say is unique abut modern society?

A

there is greater independence but more dependence

30
Q

suicide was perceived as..

A

a growing phenomena and social problem

31
Q

what did durkheim see suicide as?

A

an opportunity and challenge for him as a sociologist prove the worth of the subject.

32
Q

Durkheim believed suicide could have social causes and therefore…

A

could be analysed sociologically and therefore vindicate the subject

33
Q

at one level suicide appears to be a psychological problem but durkheim believed..

A

..sociology had significant explanations to offer

34
Q

durkheim studied the suicide rates of social groups. he was only interested in the rates of suicide and not individual cases because..

A

.. individual factors would not give the sociological element only the psychological

35
Q

durkheim was interested in the patterns of suicide accessible through statistical data, he pieced together and..

A

..compared rates of suicide

36
Q

he suggested there were four types of suicide based on two axes which are?

A

integration and regulation

37
Q

What is egoistic suicide?

A

based on the lack of integration

38
Q

give an example of egoistic suicide

A

protestants are more likely to commit suicide than catholics. durkheim argues that this is because catholics are more integrated and participant in eachothers lives. protestants don’t have so many mechanisms bringing them together as a group

39
Q

what is altruistic suicide?

A

too much integration

more traditional suicides e.g. if someone brought society to shame

40
Q

what is anomic suicide?

A

lack of regulation
takes place in modern society and is a response to normlessness - people don’t know how to respond to change. a sense of meaningless e.g. suicide rates rise with economic depression.
a society without established norms suffers worse from the suicide rate - this is parallel with marx’s alienation

41
Q

what is fatalistic suicide?

A

excessive regulation. suicide can be a responsibility

42
Q

how can Durkheims study of suicide be critiqued?

A
  • he takes official statistics at face value and doesn’t consider that there may be reasons not to. e.g. coroners don’t always label deaths correctly
43
Q

even if the suicide study fails, how can it be credited?

A

it was a first attempt to conceptualise the impact of society on individual acts. it introduced the idea that there is a wider phenomena at work, beyond the individual even in the most personal acts. so it deserves recognition for seriously exploring
even if it fails, it is a well organised and well executed study and an intellectual achievement in showing how to address studies.

44
Q

what does durkheim assume when studying religion?

A

that we need to get to the most basic forms of religion to study it. the basic core of religion is what we need to start with to understand religion so we must look at primitive cultures

45
Q

what did durkheim study in his study of religion?

A

he looked at aboriginal tribes and treated these as elementary simple forms of religion, believing that if we can understand more complex forms of religion. he was looking for some underlying facts of religion and attempting to introduce clarity

46
Q

why does durkheim avoid saying that religion is a supernatural phenomena?

A

he tries to understand how societies define some things as sacred and some things as profane

47
Q

what are the functions of religion according to Durkheim?

A
  • discipline - creates a self discipline and demands sacrifices from individuals for the good of the culture
  • cohesion - binds groups together - social solidarity
  • vitalising - revitalises the culture of the group, enhances and validates the values of the community
  • euphoric - a powerful sense of well-being and joy from a communal sense of worship
  • it provides categories for understanding space and time e.g. the creation story.
48
Q

religion is society worshipping itself according to durkheim. it generates a sense of…

A

.. shared community

49
Q

religion may have faded after durkheim but …………. argues for the continuance of civil religion where sacred properties are attached to other things that are not necessarily supernatural.

A

Bellah

Semester 1 (6 decks)

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