SOC388 - 2. Durkheim

Question 1

Functionalism

Answer 1

Social morality leads to social integration – holds society together
society made up of parts all with necessary function

Question 2

Functionalism

Answer 2

Organic Metaphor: organs that make up a body each with a job
Brain is the most important part – collective consciousness
Social Facts

Question 3

Individual Consciousness/Collective Consciousness

Answer 3

Individual: own psychology that need not be shared
Collective: ideas, beliefs, norms, values, moral attitudes shared in a group

Question 4

Individual Consciousness/Collective Consciousness

Answer 4

Proportion varies between the 2 depending on the society
In some CC was huge, in others IC was bigger
Don’t have much division of labour – CC is bigger

Question 5

Specialization – differentiation

Answer 5

more diff from one another
Before we all had same skills
As we get diff jobs, we study diff things, differentiation increases
Without it we would have mechanical solidarity

Question 6

Mechanical Solidarity

Answer 6

direct dependency – sameness holds us together

Move in tandem because CC is huge part of our mind

Question 7

Organic Solidarity

Answer 7

proportion of IC is greater due to greater differentiation
Interdependency: integrated because we depend on each other
Every organ has a diff function and are necessary to survived

Question 8

Crime

Answer 8

“offends strong well defined state of the collective consciousness”

Important that we uphold those beliefs and punish because it maintains social integration

Question 9

Norms

Answer 9

important just as law

We need collective consciousness to internalize beliefs and maintain social order

Question 10

Norms

Answer 10

Maintained in groups

Some actions are positive in some contexts but unacceptable in others

Question 11

Mind

Answer 11

What are the basic principles of thinking
Basic categories of organizing
Study of primitive religions

Question 12

Fundamental categories of thinking that organized a society

Answer 12

Social
Supernatural
Natural
Ordered the three worlds similarly
Categories we use are the same for each world

Question 13

Fundamental categories of thinking that organized a society

Answer 13

Religion + social were similar in that it was present in every individual for a society to maintain some degree of social order
How we organize time and space can be traced back to religion: Sabath day is still respected

Question 14

Totenism

Answer 14

Durkheim says society worshiped totems because it represents God which he argues that totem is society
worship materials that we believe has powers
Most clear difference between sacred and profane

Question 15

Sacred vs. Profane

Answer 15

categories of seeing the world, contrast
Not genera: tall and short still refer to height
Always and everywhere separate genera – don’t refer to the same phenomena (worlds)

Question 16

Sacred vs. Profane

Answer 16

Sacred: need to protected from the profane
Birthdays – expectation of doing something special
Profane: material world

Question 17

Sacred vs. Profane

Answer 17

How we organize time: Week as profane + weekend as sacred – consider it more special
How we organize space: private property
Sacred in our capitalist society

Question 18

Sacred vs. Profane

Answer 18

Things that we consider private we have strong feelings for

Bedroom more sacred, more private

Question 19

Marx

Answer 19

Position in social structure determined by ownership of means of production or labour
Capacity to produce
Determines thoughts and actions

Question 20

Weber

Answer 20

Not simply our position in social structure

Calvinism – working hard being ascetic is a sign is that you’re one of the elect

Question 21

Weber

Answer 21

Same resources but why didn’t it develop in italy? Because it wasn’t a protestant society
Because they were catholic they didn’t have internalized beliefs
Ppl had wealth in florence but lived lavishly
Didn’t led to accumulation of wealth necessary for capitalism

Question 22

Weber

Answer 22

For Weber, position didn’t adequately explain capitalism, but ideas did
Verstehen: understanding – method
We need to understand the meaning they give to their actions to understand what they do

Question 23

Simmel

Answer 23

Dyad: only 2
Larger the group the less determined each person is
Structure of groups of ppl determines what happens in that unit

Question 24

Simmel

Answer 24

Pure or formal sociology: structure of social relations to understand what happens in these relations, not about content