M2: Durkheim Flashcards
What three works will we look at to study Durkheim’s sociological theory?
- The Division of Labor in Society
- The Rules of Sociological Method
- Suicide
What does the book, ‘The Division of Labor in Society,’ explore?
-the transition from traditional society to modern society
What does Durkheim argue transition involves?
- an increase in social differentiation
- major change in the nature of morality
In what way did Durkheim agree and reject Spencer’s belief on the cause of the transition from traditional to modern society?
- he agreed with Spencer that the transition was caused by social differentiation
- however he said Spencer only got half of it;
- specialization occurs in all areas of life
What does Durkheim mean by morality?
- being solidified within a group and sharing interests, norms and beliefs
- a system of collective values and beliefs that guide peoples interactions
Did Durkheim believe morality was a property of society or the individual?
-society
What was Durkheim’s main concern in his book the Division of Labor in Society?
-the nature of social solidarity itself (what unites people together)
What is Durkheim’s answer to the second question?
-he is a positivist/naturalist
Can Durkheim actually study morality?
-no, he believes morality itself cannot be studied and must be operationalized (must use an external indicator)
What external indicator did Durkheim use to study morality?
-legal laws
What are legal laws?
-rule of conduct that are enforced through sanctions
What are the characteristics of traditional society?
- small, few parts
- segmental structure (independent and identical parts)
- low level of individualization
What did Durkheim believe held together traditional society?
-mechanical solidarity
What is mechanical solidarity?
- solidarity through the collective conscious
- based on resemblance and similarity
- shared values and beliefs hold society together
What are characteristics of modern societies?
- large, many diverse parts
- parts are interdependent
What does Durkheim believe holds together modern society?
-organic solidarity
What is organic solidarity?
- based on difference and interdependence in relations of exchange
- solidarity through the division of labour
- cult of the individual
What does Durkheim mean by the cult of the individual?
- as opposed to collective conscious
- consensual belief about dignity and worth of individuals
What question does Durkheim ask to account for the transition?
- focuses on question, ‘Do moral norms change as a response to changes in social conditions?’
- studies relationship between increase in differentiation and change in nature of morality
How does Durkheim document the transition?
-by examining development of systems of laws
Why does Durkheim use laws?
- positivist
- external indicator to study morality
- legal codes meet his criteria
How did Durkheim classify laws?
-by the sanctions they entail
What were the two types of laws Durkheim studied?
Laws with;
- repressive sanctions
- restitutive sanctions
Why did Durkheim use the word Organic to characterize modern societies?
-he wanted to show how these societies were like organisms, interdependent parts working together
What were laws with repressive sanctions?
- penal/criminal laws
- objective was to punish the person who broke the law
- demand retribution through punishment
What were laws with restitutive sanctions?
- civil, commercial, procedural, administrative, constitutional laws
- offender must make amends for what they have done
- demand restitution
How did Durkheim use these 2 types of laws to study the transition?
-proportion of these 2 kinds of laws changes with change in the type of society
Based on Durkheim’s analysis using the 2 laws what did he come up with?
-moral norms change in response to changes in social conditions
If you have a low degree of social differentiation what type of laws do you have?
-criminal law predominates
If you have a high degree of social differentiation what type of laws do you have?
-civil/administrative law predominates
Do we still find morality in modern societies?
- Yes, it does not disappear
- however, morality is different then it was in traditional societies
What was Durkheim’s non-contractual element of contract?
-that for the contractual exchange relationships in modern societies, contracts are governed by moral principles
Who did Durkheim accept and reject when he came up with his non-contractual element of contract?
Spencer;
- agreed with Spencer that contracts govern these exchanges
- rejects Spencer’s belief that contracts are governed purely by self-interest
- instead, believes contracts to be governed by moral principles
What does Durkheim say actually causes the structural differentiation which in turn causes the moral norms to change resulting in a transition?
- social volume
- moral (dynamic) density
What does the development of the division of labour go hand in hand with?
-the disintegration of segmental type of social structure (traditional to modern)
What does the disintegration of segmental types of social structure directly influence?
- increase of moral (dynamic) density
- i.e. the number of individuals within close contact that can act on and react on one another
- this fills in the moral gaps between segments
How are material density and moral density related?
-Material density is a visible and measurable indicator of moral density
What presupposes an increase in material density?
-an increase in moral (dynamic) density
What causes an increase in material density?
- urbanization
- new ways of transportation etc.
How does Durkheim explain how traditional societies shift to modern societies (word for word)?
- when there is an increase in moral density and social volume the struggle for existence is greater
- an increase in dynamic density gives rise to an increase in competition between individuals
- if these individuals want to actually survive they must assume special roles and then establish exchange relations with one another
If competition drives individuals apart, what keeps them together in a modern society?
-organic solidarity
What does Durkheim characterize as abnormal forms of the division of labour?
- solidarity is not produced
- calls these anomic division of labour
To function “normally” what must come before social justice and equality of opportunity?
-organic solidarity
What does Durkheim use his concept of anomic division of labour to talk about?
-class conflict and classless society
What does Durkheim agree with and reject with Marx?
- agrees that 19th century is characterized by class conflict
- but rejects Marx’s belief that it will produce a new form of class society
- instead, he believes class struggle derives from the transition between mechanical and organic solidarity
What does Durkheim mean by anomie?
-that contractural regulations are not regulated
What is Durkheim’s solution to the problem of anomie and class struggle?
- complete the transition to organic solidarity through the moral regulation of industry
- occupational morality in each occupation would combat anomie
How does Durkheim propose the moral regulation of industry?
At the level of;
- economy as a whole
- occupational system itself
How does Durkheim argue that a modern society with organic solidarity would be classless?
- he says that organic solidarity has individual justice and social equality
- thus, these two things would cause this society to move closer and closer to a meritocracy
Classless in what sense?
-classless in the sense that the concept of class would be meaningless
What are Durkheim’s answers to the problem of change?
- Society, from a traditional/mechanical to modern/organic
- An increase in social differentiation and morality from mechanical to organic solidarity
- Mechanisms are moral (dynamic) density and social volume
Is Durkheim’s problem of change developmental or evolutionary?
Evolutionary;
- suggests change is not inevitable
- environment plays a role
What was the primary objective of Durkheim’s book, The Rules of Sociological Method?
- establish sociology as an independent science
- he would do this through a set of guidelines for conducting sociology (how Durkheim thinks we should do soci)
What two things do the Rules of Sociological Method specify?
- what the subject matter of sociology should be
- and the rules for studying this subject matter
What did Durkheim believe the subject matter of sociology should be?
-social facts
What other work of Durkheim’s were a direct link to the Rules of Sociological Method?
-his book, Suicide
What was Durkheim’s own description of the content of the Rules of Sociological Method?
-manifesto that is objective, specific and methodical
What did Durkheim argue made sociology a separate science?
-that sociology studied social facts
What is the definition and defining criteria of social facts and what are some examples?
- any way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exerting over the individual an external constraint
- the defining criteria is that social facts must be external to individuals (externality) and constraining
- examples are social structures, institutions, norms and values
How are social facts external?
- every individual is born into an already existing society and properties of these societies are always initially external to the individual
- as individuals learn social constraint they feel something external to them (they feel social facts)
How are social facts constraining?
- social facts compel us to do things and then put limits on what we can do
- however, conformity rarely rests on fear of sanctions
What is the qualifier of social facts?
- internalization
- people accept norms, values and beliefs and want to do these things
What does the quote, “Social facts dominate us and impose beliefs and practices upon us. But they rule us from within, for they are in every case an integral part of ourselves,” mean?
- Durkheim is talking about the qualifier of social facts; internalization
- he is also justifying an independent science of sociology
Why does Durkheim study the relationship of sociology to psychology?
-because he wants to show how sociology is a separate science from psychology
How does Durkheim argue sociology and psychology are different sciences?
- he says they are both modelled on the natural sciences
- however, each has its own distinctive subject matter and view of the individual-society relationship
What is the subject matter and individual-society relationship of psychology and sociology?
- psychology explains social phenomena using characteristics of isolated individuals (I–>S)
- sociology argues that society determines the nature of individuals; societies have their own needs, goals and interests (S–> I)
Why was Comte able to ignore psychology and Durkheim not?
-because psychology was rapidly becoming a science
How does Durkheim argue that social phenomena must be studied through sociology and not through the lens of psychology?
- he agrees that individuals combine to form societies
- but disagrees with psychology’s microlinkage and instead says societies influence individuals
- he says societies interests are not the goals, needs and interests of the individual
How does Durkheim use the concept of water to argue sociology is a separate science from psychology?
- uses water
- he says that two gases form to create a liquid
- and this shows how the characteristics of the individual do not define the whole
What does Durkheim say are sociological explanations?
- they are a distinctive type of explanation
- explanation in terms of properties of societies (i.e. social facts)
- social facts must be explained by other social facts
How would psychology explain social facts?
-psychology would explain social facts with characteristics of individuals
What is Durkheim’s answer to the first problem, the problem of agency?
-he is a macroextremist
What is Durkheim’s answer to the second problem, the problem of mechanism?
-he is a naturalist
What five types of rules did Durkheim make to study social facts?
Rules for;
- observing social facts
- classifying social types
- explaining social facts
- establishing sociological proofs
- distinguishing between the normal and the pathological (abnormal)
What was Durkheim’s rule for observing social facts?
- consider social facts as things, they belong to the realm of nature (natural world)
- eliminate all personal biases and preconceptions
- operationalize the social phenomenon
What were Durkheim’s rules for classifying social types?
He grouped societies based on;
- nature and number of parts (small w/ few traditional or large with many as modern)
- the mode for the combination of the parts (are the parts similar, diverse?)
What were Durkheim’s rules for explaining social facts?
Two types of explanation:
- causal and functional explanation
- and a complete sociological explanation will involve both types
What is a casual explanation?
- a search for precursor conditions which produce a given effect
- must use social facts to explain social facts (his Durkheimian twist on causal explanation)
What is a functional explanation?
- you determine the consequence of a social fact (regardless of its cause) for the whole of society
- the consequences will always be a consequence for society
