The Rules of the Sociological Method (1895) - Durkheim

Question 1

What is the rule of the sociological method? What’s Durkheim’s approach to studying society?

Answer 1

To observe social facts and study these facts as “things”

Question 2

What is the definition of a social fact?

Answer 2

• An aspect of social life that exists independently of the individual, they did not originate from the individual
• They are external and coercive to the individual - they are patterns of behaviour, values, norms and social structures that shape and constrain behaviour - the individual has to conform to them
• a product of human activity
• overt manifestations of ideas in the human mind

Question 3

What are examples of a social fact?

Answer 3

institutions, laws, customs, language, moral values - they are collective representations of social behaviour. They are external to the individual but have a significant effect on human behaviour

Question 4

What is a social current?

Answer 4

Prevailing attitudes, beliefs, opinions and sentiments at a particular moment

Question 5

What does Durkheim mean by studying social facts as ‘things’?Why does he insist on it?

Answer 5

• Things are external representations of the mind that reveal how society has shaped it, rather than abstract concepts of the mind
• They are simply not the subjective experience of the individual
• Objectivity: Durkheim strives for objectivity to make the discipline scientific. By characterizing social facts as “things,” he wanted to underscore their objective, tangible, and external nature.
• Measurability: allows for the comparison of different societies and the identification of patterns and regularities.

Question 6

What is sui generis and why does Durkheim refer to social facts/phenomenon as sui generis?

Answer 6

Durkheim argued that social facts are entities that are unique to the social realm and cannot be reduced to or explained solely by individual psychological factors. Social facts have a reality of their own, independent of individual consciousness, and they exert a coercive influence on individuals within a society.

He emphasizes the idea that social reality has its own nature and should be studied on its own terms. This concept is fundamental to his approach in establishing sociology as a distinct science, separate from other disciplines such as psychology or biology. Durkheim believed that society has properties and dynamics that cannot be fully understood by analyzing individuals in isolation; instead, one must recognize and study the unique characteristics of social facts as entities in their own right.

Question 7

What is the role of emotions in research?

Answer 7

“our political and religious beliefs and our moral standards carry with them an emotional tone that is not characteristic of our attitude toward physical objects; consequently, this emotional character infects our manner of conceiving and explaining them.” (p. 32)
Durkheim thinks emotions make us biased and would interfere in our objective study of societies

Question 8

What/who influenced Durkheim’s approach?

Answer 8

• Auguste Comte’s positivism: the belief in observing things to derive concepts that are scientifically verified and grounded
• Critique of Herbert Spencer: Spencer was looking at humans from an evolutionary perspective where societies evolve in a linear and progressive manner, but Durkheim emphasised the need to study specific social forces that contribute to the social integration and cohesion of societies

Question 9

How does Durkheim differentiate Sociology from Spencer and Comte’s definition and methodology?

Answer 9

Durkheim distinguishes Sociology from the metaphysical, philosophical and introspective foundations by offering a scientific strategy of studying society

Question 10

How is Sociology different from other disciplines (i.e. Psychology)?

Answer 10

• the study of collective conscience and representations, as opposed to the study of the individual conscience