M3: Durkheim Flashcards
What are the rules for establishing sociological proofs?
- document that causal and functional explanations are correct
- use comparative method
What is a form of the comparative method?
-method of concomitant variation (variation across phenomena)
What did Durkheim say was the sole method for sociological use?
-the comparative method
What are the rules for distinguishing between the normal and the pathological
Normal:
-what is most frequent and typical of a society of a given type or at a given stage of social evolution
-whats normal will vary across time and space
Pathological:
-whatever deviates significantly from this condition
What ties directly to Durkheim’s rules for the normal and pathological?
- ties directly to his concern for the practical implications of sociology
- Durkheim wanted to use sociology to help society
Could a high crime rate be considered normal then under Durkheim’s rule?
Yes, as long as it was the typical crime rate
Why did Durkheim write his book Suicide?
-to demonstrate the usefulness of his methods of sociology
Why did Durkheim choose suicide?
-suicide was considered uniquely psychological thus he wanted to demonstrate how you could discover new things about it by using a sociological approach
How did Durkheim study suicide?
- he studied the prevalence and distribution of suicide in a society (a social fact)
- society’s aggregate tendency towards suicide
- the empirical indicator was suicide rate
How does Durkheim argue that suicide is a valid social fact?
-a societies aggregate tendency of suicide rates remain the same and this stability suggests that its a social fact
What data does Durkheim use to study his empirical indicator, suicide rates?
-existing data on suicide rates
How is Durkheim’s approach different than others who have studied suicide rates?
- its novel because he uses his rules of sociological method
- i.e. social facts must be explained by other social facts
- he also uses the comparative method and compares suicide rates across various countries
What does Durkheim conclude by studying suicide rates across various countries?
-that suicide rates vary inversely with the degree of social integration of the groups to which an individual belongs
What religious group is seen with the lowest and highest rate of suicide?
-catholics have the lowest and protestants the highest
Does Durkheim account the causation of religion with suicide based on the religion itself?
-No, cause suicide is a sin in both religions
