Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

1. Emile Durkheim(1858-1917)

2. Emile Durkheim • Personal Information • Social Environment • Basic Concerns • Intellectual Influences • Ideas • Research • Contribution to Sociology.

3. Personal Information • Born April 1858 • Jewish section of Epinal, France • Family not wealthy but respected • Close-knit family • Taught secondary school

4. Personal Information • 1887 first faculty appointment • Introduced Sociology course • Chair of the Dept. of Social Sciences 1896-1902 (University of Bordeaux) • Married, 2 children (Son, Andre died in WWI) • Durkheim died at age 59

5. Social Environment • Rapid industrialization • Cities full of factory workers • Conflict between workers & employees • Example: Paris Commune (1871) • Workers seized Paris • Established egalitarian republic • French government destroyed commune • Killed 20,000 working-class people.

6. Pere Lachaise CemeteryWall carved by Paul Albert Barthalomé in 1899

8. Social Environment • History of Political Instability • Monarchy of Louis XVI • French Revolution (1789) • Dictatorship of Napoleon I (1799-1815) • Restoration of Bourbon monarchy • Bourbons overthrown (1830).

9. Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette

10. Napoleon I

11. Napoleon III

12. Social Environment • History of Political Instability (cont.) • Monarchy of Louis Philippe • Revolution ended monarchy (1848) • 2nd Republic (didn’t last long) • Emperor Napoleon III (1852-1870) • Nephew of Napoleon I • Deposed after defeat in Franco-Prussian War.

13. Louis Philippe

14. Social Environment • Durkheim lived in 3rd Republic • Felt that people had lost moral unity • Still remnants of previous governments • People who supported: • Democracy • Monarchy • Socialism.

15. Basic Concerns • 1) Instability • Economic • Political • 2) Violence • Workers & employers • Between nations • Anti-Semitism • 3) Decadence • Self-centered • No sense of community.

16. Sociology the Solution • Purpose of Sociology=Explain how to make modern society work. • Develop positivist laws • Solve problems • Address moral crises • Create stability.

17. Intellectual Influences • Kant • Morality without divine connection • Motivated by sense of duty • Saint-Simon • Sociology develop moral laws • Similarity of moral ideas hold society together • Comte • Emphasis on social stability & change.

18. Intellectual Influences • Spencer • Social evolution • Increasing size • Increasing complexity • Differentiation • Integration.

19. Intellectual Influences • Wundt • German psychologist • Model for creating new discipline • Just created experimental psychology • Jewish training • Morally integrated society • Substituted “society” for “God” as origin of moral action.

20. Ideas Social Solidarity Dynamic Density Social Facts Collective Consciousness Collective Representations Social Currents Society as a distinct social reality Individual as Dualistic.

21. Social Solidarity • 1) Mechanical Solidarity • More primitive societies • Minimal division of labor • Few occupations • Similarity bound people together.

22. Social Solidarity • 2) Organic Solidarity • More advanced societies (industrial) • Specialization • Individuality • Increased division of labor (more occupations) • Individuals must rely on others • Division of labor creates solidarity.

23. Dynamic Density • The number of people in society • The amount of interaction between them • A social fact • Used to study society & social solidarity.

24. Social Facts • “Ways of acting, thinking, & feeling, external to the individual & endowed with the power of coercion, by reason of which they control him.” • Independent of any single individual • Can only be explained by other social facts.

25. Social Fact “A social fact is identifiable through the power of external coercion which it exerts or is capable of exerting upon individuals” (Durkheim,  [1895] 1982, p. 56).

26. Social Facts-3 General Types • 1. Material facts • Social structures • Economy, family, social class • Morphological Facts • Population size, density, geographical location.

27. Social Facts (cont.) • 2. Nonmaterial facts(Communication links) • Norms • Values • Collective representations • Collective consciousness.

28. Social Facts (cont.) • 3. Social currents • Not as clearly formed • Examples: • Enthusiasm in crowds • Indignation in crowds • Depression in particular social groups.

29. Collective Consciousness • The totality of beliefs & sentiments common to the average member of society • Preexists & survives individuals.

30. Collective Consciousness (cont.) • Experienced as an external force which shapes behavior. • Varies from society to society based on the division of labor.

31. Collective Consciousness4 dimensions • 1. Volume=number of people involved. • 2. Intensity=how deeply the people feel about the belief. • 3. Rigidity=clarity of the definition. • 4. Content=form collective consciousness takes.

32. Example of 4 DimensionsMarriage in Feudal Societies (Mechanical Societies) • Volume=Most people involved • Intensity=Felt deeply about it • Rigidity=Clearly defined • Content=Religious & economic.

33. Example of 4 DimensionsMarriage Today (Organic Society) • Volume=Large # but smaller % of population • Intensity=Feel less deeply • Rigidity=Less clearly defined • Content=Personal choice.

34. *** Collective Representations • Specific states of collective consciousness • Norms, values, & beliefs of various groups (e.g., family, schools) • Not reducible to or dependent on the individual • Form a collective consciousness.

35. Social Currents • Different collective consciousness & representations produce different social currents. • Not as clearly formed as representations • Examples: • Enthusiasm or pity in crowds • Depression & disillusionment in segments of society.

36. Society & Social Reality • Society as a distinct form of social reality. • Cannot be reduced to biology or psychology. • Society is not the mere sum of its parts.

37. Individual as Dualistic • Individual part • Bioorganic • Inborn • Self-centered.

38. Individual as Dualistic • Social Part • Develops through socialization & interaction • Altruistic • Group oriented • Needs nurturing & developing.

39. Anomie “It is this anomic state that is the cause, as we shall show, of the incessantly recurrent conflicts, and the multifarious disorders of which the economic world exhibits so sad a spectacle” ([1893] 1933: 5).

40. Anomie • Modern individual insufficiently integrated into society. • Because of these weakening bonds, social regulation breaks down • The controlling influence of society on the desires and interests of the individual is effective • Individuals are left to their own devices.

41. Anomie • Because of the dual nature of human beings this breakdown of moral guidance results in: • Rising rates of deviance • Social unrest • Unhappiness • Stress

42. Anomie "The more one has, the more one wants, since satisfactions received only stimulate instead of filling needs"  (1951, p. 248).

43. Research Suicide rates are social facts 4 types of suicide: • Egoistic • Altruistic • Anomic • Fatalistic

44. Egoistic Suicide • Low social integration • Group solidarity has declined • Individual must depend on self • Excessive individualism in modern society • Examples of vulnerable groups: • Urban dwellers • Industrial workers • Protestants • Unmarried men.

45. Altruistic Suicide • High social integration • Excessive integration into group • Person completely absorbed by group • Duty to commit suicide for benefit of group • Examples: • Found more in less “civilized” societies • One group in modern society—Army.

46. Anomic Suicide • Low social regulation • Breakdown of moral community • Human nature to be dissatisfied • "The more one has, the more one wants, since satisfactions received only stimulate instead of filling needs"  (Durkheim) • No rules or vague rules • Examples: • Adolescents • Older white men.

47. Fatalistic Suicide • Excessive social regulation • Too tightly controlled • Few choices • Examples: • Slaves • Very young husbands • Married women when divorce is not available.

48. Contribution to Sociology • Institutionalized Sociology • Taught first class • Defined area of research • Conducted research to illustrate sociology’s usefulness.

49. Contribution to Sociology • Set the standard for research style & presentation • Literature review • Theoretical context • Testable hypotheses • Use of statistics • Implications of findings.