David Émile Durkheim was born in Epinal, the capital town of the Vosges, in Lorraine France on April 15, 1858. Durkheim’s mother, Mélanie, was the daughter of a merchant. Durkheim was born into a Jewish family, in which his father, Moïse, had been a rabbi in Epinal since the 1830s, and his grandfathers had also been rabbis. Accordingly, Durkheim was destined to follow his father’s footsteps and become a rabbi himself. This caused him to spend a part of early education in a rabbinical school (Jones 12-23). Durkheim did not continue on this path, however, for Durkheim would break away from Judaism after his arrival in Paris. Durkheim, in his early years, faced anti-semitism from French citizens due to his Jewish cultural background. He studied …show more content…
Being marginalized by French society would contribute to Durkheim’s future, for marginalization helped Durkheim view society’s patterns; a sociologist in the making. Being alive during the Great War, World War 1, also had a negative impact on his life. Durkheim would prioritize the war effort, burying himself in meetings. In the later years, Durkheim would face Anti-Semitism yet again. Another negative impact from the war was the fate of Durkheim’s son, André. Sent to the Bulgarian front in 1915, he was declared missing in January, and in April 1916, was confirmed dead. His son’s death caused Durkheim to withdraw, forbidding his friends to even mention his son’s name in his presence (Jones 12-23). After speaking at a meeting, Durkheim collapsed from a stroke, which he later recovered from, and died at the age of 59. For most of his life people disrespected him for his cultural background, but would later revere him for his studies and teachings. Some struggles Durkheim faced was the horror of war and …show more content…
For instance he coined the term “social facts” (Andersen and Taylor 14) which are the social patterns such as customs and social values of an individual. Another example is his study of suicide, where Durkheim would view the patterns of suicide and generalize. For example, Protestants had the highest suicide rate (Jones 82-114). He saw that suicide was a social phenomenon. Another contribution Durkheim made was his concept of the division of labor, in which he argued traditional societies were made up of similar people in terms of values, religious beliefs, and background, while modern societies were made up of a complex division of labor, beliefs, and backgrounds (Hurst). As stated in the American Journal of Sociology, “it remains one of the peak contributions of modern sociology” (Merton
Social facts have existence as a separate entity and it does not get affected by the individual behavior. In other words, social facts are the outcome of the state of the collective mind. The stress on the above feature makes sociology different from the rules of sociological method. Further, in favor of his argument Durkheim says that as an individual of the society the person inculcates automatically the behavioral deeds and actions with or without prior knowledge. No one is coercive on the imposition of laws and rules. If anyone goes against he is fined or a penalty is imposed for not obeying the laws of the society. To put forth his ideas in an effective manner he argues that society as a whole is an amalgamation of political platforms, partial groups such as literary schools, religious organizations etc which are bonded through certain sentiments. In his opinion, if the individual does not act in favor of a group and its principles that work for good cause and the betterment of the individuals and the society, he is made to face everything alone leading to atrocities and horrifying incidents.
Emile Durkheim, was a French sociologist. His theories and writings helped establish the foundations of modern sociology. Durkheim disagreed with most social theorists of the late 1800 's because they thought that individual psychology was the basis of sociology. Durkheim regarded sociology as the study of the society that surrounds and influences the individual. Durkheim explained his theories in his book The Rules of Sociological Method (1895). He says there is relationship between moral values and religious beliefs, which establishes unity in society.Emile Durkheim has long been viewed as one of the founders of the so called variables oriented approach to sociological investigation. Durkheim developed the theory that societies are bound together by two sources of unity. He called these sources mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity refers to similarities that many people in the society share, such as values and religious beliefs. Organic solidarity results from the division of labor into specialized jobs. Durkheim believed that the division of labor makes people depend on one another and thus helps create unity in a society. Durkheim studied thousands of cases of suicide to demonstrate his theory that a person commits suicide because of the
Along with his study on social facts, he also focused some on the Division of Labor. Many people during this time believed that the social order of things was in danger due to the selfishness of society as a whole. While Marx believed that capitalism was a bad thing and was bringing down society, Durkheim believed that it was a good thing and it pulled society together. As times progressed, so did society. Durkheim began to look at the solidarity of society. He categorized them into two different types mechanical and organic solidarity. . (Ritzer 2004) I believe that Durkheim thought
Durkheim’s great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all Jewish rabbis. He was expected to follow suit so at a young age he was sent to a rabbinical school. He studied Hebrew, the Talmud, the Old Testament, as well as the curriculum taught in secular schools. Surprisingly his destiny for rabbinate was short lived. He gave up Judaism shortly after his bar mitzvah, a traditional Jewish
Durkheim’s study of sociology was heavily focused in the study of social institutions such as religion, and marriage. As a positivist, Durkheim believed that suicide was an impartial reasonable fact of society. This idea is due to the visual representations of suicide rates of societies over
is fighting on the western front in WW1 , he and his comrades will soon realize the horrors of
Durkheim’s theory consisted of finding a problem which was suicide. He then came up with a dependent variable which was the suicide rate. The social forces became the independent variable. The hypothesis would be what the suicide rate would vary with. When he collected his date Durkheim would go into detail about each individuals life and any uprising problems that he could find. He would then analyze the data into four categories which are the three most common types of suicide (egoistic suicide, altruistic suicide and anomic suicide). After looking at the date and matching it up with the proper suicide type Durkheim would then draw conclusions or form a theory.
Along with Marx and Weber, Durkheim is considered one of the founding members of modern sociology. He is also credited with making sociology a science through his application of scientific and empirical research. Durkheim believed that sociology should be seen as a science separate from other sciences such as psychology, by studying “social facts” objectively as things. (Kiviston, 2011)
In regards to (a) social facts, Durkheim refers to ideas, values and concepts that a society has developed over time and where each individual within this society shares. These ideas, values and concepts develop into behavioural patterns among the society and ultimately reach a point where
Durkheim was focused on setting the social level apart where independence is kept. He recognized that people in a society have different susceptibility to suicide and the influences that make them to
Throughout his life, Durkheim has three main goals: establish sociology as a new academic discipline, analyze how societies maintain their integrity in the modern era, and lastly the practical implications of scientific knowledge. Durkheim’s contributions to social theory are expansive however the most impactful works were: The Division of Labor in Society and The Rules of Sociological Method. In his first work he introduced the concept of the breakdown of the influence of the societal norms on the individual, in his second work he stated what sociology is and how it should be acted out. Both of these works took social theory to a new level and they further help the individual understand his society.
Following the emancipation and ensuing acculturation of French Jews, there was another notable case of division among the Jewish people in Europe. During this period, there was a significant
Essay Question: Why is the concept of social facts so significant for Durkheim’s work? Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one of his studies.
Durkheim was an early sociologist whom is widely known for his theories on the structure of society, including its functioning in traditional and modern societies and the contrast between individualism yet social order. Unlike the other sociologists of his era, his theories analysed external features or "social facts", such as social structure, rather than internal/ psychological features such as a person 's desires and motives. These social facts are made up of the values, morals and structures within a society. "According to Durkheim collective consciousnesses, values and rules are critical to a functional society" (Hurst, 2015). Durkheim 's book "Suicide" (2002) presented the concept of anomie. "The term anomie refers to a condition or state in which
Durkheim is a highly influential name to remember when thinking of sociology. Durkheim’s mission was to develop sociology so it could be defined and to develop a method on how sociology should be used. Durkheim’s main concern in his career was primarily associated with how societies might preserve their integrity and rationality within modernised society, when things such as shared religious views and ethnic backgrounds are seen as things of the past. In relation to Durkheim’s social realism his concern was with the growing individualism in society. Durkheim argues that we are in an era which is imperfectly moving towards a morality based on individualism as “Durkheim regarded individualism as a collective representation, a force that