Week 6 & 7 - Durkheim

Question 1

Define: anomie/anomy (Durkheim)

Answer 1

a state of chaos

Question 2

Define/explain: hypothetico-deductivism

Answer 2

using the scientific method and the testing of hypothesis to gather knowledge (induction), and deduct truth from that
-Durkheim drew on this ideal from Compte to frame his paradigm of sociology as a science

Question 3

Define: positivism

Answer 3

• using empirical science and gathering knowledge with the senses/measuring, to understand everything
• foundational ideal is that we can always deduce answers from science

Question 4

Define/explain: social facts

Answer 4

ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are experienced by individuals as external and constraining, and that are general throughout a social group

• can look at social facts to get a picture of overall society
• are collective, but will present themselves differently when acted out by individuals, they can deviate a bit from the norm, but not too much

Question 5

What is Durkheim’s argument for sociology being a science of its own?

Answer 5

• though sociology uses scientific methods shared by other subjects, it is a subject matter in its own right and must be seen that way
• society is a separate entity that imposes itself in individuals, vs. individual as within society
• social facts are not readily observable without the use of the scientific method, it hard for something that is completely immersed in another thing to understand it
• because society is external to the individual, we are victims to an illusion that leads us to think we have produced what has been imposed upon us externally

Question 6

Define/explain: social constraints

Answer 6

• we have consequences if we don’t follow rules of social facts
• they are largely moral, but only exist in the presence of rigid social institutions, outside of individual personality
• ex. if we step outside of the norm, society pushes back through social distancing, weird looks, prison etc

Question 7

What should the science of sociology look like according to Durkheim?

Answer 7

• using the scientific methods to look at responses to social facts, and putting it all together to get a bigger picture, this is the only legitimate form of sociology
• in order to explain social life we need to show how phenomena (social norms) exist to place society in harmony with itself and the outside world

Question 8

Define: gradations (Durkheim)

Answer 8

degrees of difference in the ways individuals interact with social norms, only extreme differences that hinder the functioning the organism (society) are problematic, ex. could lead to anarchy

Question 9

Define: teleology

Answer 9

the function of something, separate from its origin or how it is what it is

Question 10

Where do social facts originate?

Answer 10

• authority in society produces social facts, teaches and prepares the next generation to follow those social facts, tracing power leads to finding origin of social facts, different from the fact’s teleology
• social facts are very historically and temporally situated, different over time
• the function of a social fact always lies in the relationship it bears to some social end, it either causes harmony or anomie, society’s intention is always to produce harmony therefore anything causing anomie should be adjusted

Question 11

Define: general harmony

Answer 11

• a state where society continues to function, social facts are what allow this to manifest and continue
• every social fact plays a role in the establishment of harmony, even inequality

Question 12

How did individual needs create society as we have it now? (Durkheim)

Answer 12

• at first collective life was enacted to make it possible to live in harmony, ex. don’t steal
• it eventually abstracted itself from individuals, gained power to impose itself on individuals, its power transcended that of the individual
• this new being is then not conducive with individual thoughts and actions

Question 13

Define/explain: equilibrium

Answer 13

• necessary for society to function
• no individual can be happy or exist unless his needs are met by his means, ex. if you can’t earn enough to eat, you die

Question 14

Explain the social fact of suicide according to Durkheim’s paradigm.

Answer 14

• suicide = social fact
• caused by big societal changes that led to lack of harmony/anomie
• when society is disturbed by a crisis or an abrupt transition, it is incapable of exerting control through moral consciousness, this leads to the rise of suicides
• this happened in the Industrial Revolution, there were no limits, lack of imposed limits through morals, greed runs rampant
• this lead to anomie, cognitive dissonance, a sense of being lost, and suicide
• the moral influence of religion in society has been largely replaced by industrialization/capitalism
• industrialization is inherently a liberated area, there are no limits

Question 15

Explain why/how society uses moral consciousness as a controlling force over individuals?

Answer 15

• unlike animals, humans don’t have the ability to limit our needs, we have an inherent drive to accumulate more/greed
• society teaches, and convinces individuals that it is moral to act in a certain way, appeasing the masses, preventing anomie
• each social class has a maximum standard of living to which they can aspire morally, this is not always legally formulated
• society sets limits to passions, it requires individuals to make sacrifices and concessions in the name of public interest
• this mindset gives people hope, direction, and motivation, when people agree that this is a fair and just arrangement
• control through force is not needed, people use moral consciousness to accept the lesser advantages which they owe to the chance of birth

Question 16

Define: cognitive dissonance

Answer 16

when your view of the world is challenged by an outside occurrence, we must change our view, or are left feeling disoriented, anomie

Question 17

What are the differences between wealth and poverty in mediating individualism and limits to greed?

Answer 17

• wealth, by the power it bestows, deceives us into believing that we depend on ourselves only, when it falls apart, it leads us to blame ourselves, and therefore suicide, lack of limits
• poor people are always limited because there are people above you, whose life you can’t reach
• the problem is for the rich whose wealth can be unlimited at times
• poverty often results in a religious perspective, leads to self-discipline, prevents an uprising, ex. Marx agrees, saying Christianity promises wealth when you die

Question 18

Define/explain: anomic suicides

Answer 18

result from man’s activity lacking regulation and his consequent sufferings, society’s influence is lacking in its power to influence passions

Question 19

Define: endless pursuit

Answer 19

endless greed caused by the inherent nature of industrialism, the new norm in the economy, causes anomie

Question 20

What is the difference between public and private law?

Answer 20

• public law; regulates the relationship of the individual with the state, important for mechanical solidarity
• private law; regulates the relationships of individuals with one another, important for organic solidarity

Question 21

Define/explain: organic solidarity

Answer 21

• solidarity born out of mutual need, this replaced mechanical solidarity of simpler societies
• comes from restitutory/informal sanctions and the division of labour, rather than from legal/repressive sanctions
• enforcement of restitutory laws are more widespread and personal vs enforced by a legal body
• restitutory laws control the ways that individuals related to/interact with one another, don’t involved an abstract common consciousness but still result in sanctions of different kinds when they are broken

Question 22

Define/explain: mechanical solidarity

Answer 22

• solidarity born out of a moral and cultural connection to those around us
• possible by highlighting the common similarities we share within society, and reinforcing respect for those shared similarities and the common consciousness
• even good acts (acts that are barely that bad or not harmful) challenge this consciousness/solidarity and are not tolerated, ex. sharing food produced by your community, with another community

Question 23

What is the importance of having solidarity in a society? (Durkheim)

Answer 23

• solidarity and integration cause individuals to have relationships with other individuals and groups in that society
• different forms of being and acting that contribute to solidarity are social facts

Question 24

What is the difference between laws and customs? (Durkheim)

Answer 24

• laws; legal precedent, static
• customs; grey area, fluid, flexibility
• both lead to solidarity, integration etc, more the better
• we focus on studying laws because they are concrete
• overtime social life becomes organized, through laws and customs

Question 25

Define/explain: the two types of sanctions/laws

Answer 25

1. repressive sanctions; used for mechanical solidarity, organized and strictly enforced by a definite body (the legal system)
2. restitutory sanctions; used for organic solidarity, a process of restoring the state of affairs before harm was done without the legal system, between two individuals

Question 26

Define/explain: first and second conscience

Answer 26

1. comprises only states that are personal to each one of us, characteristic to us as individuals
2. comprises states that are common to the whole of society
   - first consciousness is kept in check by second, but law steps in when second can’t control it
   - contributes to the mechanical solidarity of society

Question 27

Define/explain: collective consciousness

Answer 27

the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of society, diffused over society as a whole, links successive generations to one another

Question 28

What is the relationship b/w the collective consciousness and laws/sanctions?

Answer 28

• general sentiments are offended by things like criminal acts, therefore crimes are judged crimes by the collective consciousness that sees certain acts as wrong
• the offense of collective consciousness determines punishment based on how badly the common consciousness is offended by the act/behaviour

Question 29

What are the factors that influenced societies move from mechanical to organic solidarity during the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 29

1. People are living closer to one another, higher concentration
2. Higher social species is created as higher concentrations create social structures like towns and cities, cultural centres
3. There is increased/faster communication
   - society should progress from mechanical to organic solidarity as society becomes more dense; trying to fit more into the same amount of space

Question 30

Define: anomic division of labour

Answer 30

has not yet consolidated individual pursuits and differences into an organic/functioning whole

Question 31

How does division of labour mediate the maintenance of solidarity in an ever more dense world?

Answer 31

• higher density means more intrasocial relationships, and an increase in individualism (self-motivated and wanting different things), yet people must learn to live together in a harmonic way, this is achieved through the division of labour
• the division of labour varies in direct proportion to the volume/density of societies and as the division of labour get more diversified societies will get more dense
• competition and individual pursuits are inevitable, a proper division of labour will mediate them, otherwise we end up with an anomic division of labour
• when change happens very quickly we do not have time to strike an equilibrium

Question 32

According to Durkheim, do conceptualizations/ideals come first or do individuals experiences come first?

Answer 32

• categories influence the way we think about and see the world
• categories come from society, not from individual human experience , therefore categories come before human experience
• we frame our experiences in the lens of pre-existing categories

Question 33

What is the difference between individual empiricism and collective representations? Which determines the other?

Answer 33

• individual empiricism; you experience the world through your senses personally
• collective representations; religion, common consciousness
• for Durkheim, collective representations determine individual empiricism
• ex. religions present us with categories of understanding, ex. things that are sacred, ideas of time space, class, number, cause, substance, personality etc
• categories from religion are used to enclose all thought

Question 34

How do categories allow society to avoid dissidence and maintain integration and solidarity? How can we get and understanding of the forces that control us?

Answer 34

• categories constrain intelligence and lead to acceptance without preliminary examination
• in order to understand these categories/conceptions we must look outside of ourselves (as we have not made them ourselves)
• we must observe history and use a scientific approach in order to get a comprehensive view of categories

Question 35

What is the relationship between religious rituals and solidarity?

Answer 35

• the role of religion is to reaffirm and uphold ideals through ritual and religious ceremonies, ex. sermons
• individuals feel lost without rituals and need them to feel connected to and reminded of the importance of categories