The Sociology of Emile Durkheim

AgendaObjective:1. To understand

the sociology of Emile Durkheim and its contributions to the field of sociology.

Schedule: 1.Discussion of

Durkheim’s Theory

2. Jesus Camp

Homework1. Read “Durkheim

Packet” & keep track of evidence of your work.

2. Critical Thinking Assignments: Due Wed 10/17

3. Marx, Weber, Durkheim Paper: Due Wed 10/24

Emile Durkheim • 1858-1917• French• Originally planned to become a

rabbi but turned away from religion and became agnostic.

• Became a professor of philosophy at the University of Bordeaux

• In 1913 became the first of official sociologist in France with his professorial title being “Professor of the Science of Education and Sociology”

• “Founded” the field of sociology by defining its subject matter and its methodology

• Major Works– The Division of Labor (1893)– Suicide (1897)– The Elementary Forms of Religious

Life (1912

Historical Context• Durkheim’s thinking was

influenced by two theories gaining prominence in the late 1800s:– Sociological positivism– Social Realism

Historical Context: Sociological Positivism

• Idea developed by Auguste Comte (man who coined the phrase sociology)

• Sought to apply the scientific method to the social sciences.

• Said that true social science should use empirical facts to discover the universal laws that govern social life.

• Durkheim adopts this positivism and uses this methodological approach in all his words.– In all his works he looks to

empirical social facts and from them tries to deduce universal social laws.

Historical Context: Social Realism

• Durkheim adopted a realist perspective and sought to demonstrate the existence of social realities outside of the individuals.

• Durkheim blended realism with positivism to argue that sociology would not only discover social laws but would be able to discover the inherent nature of society.

The Rules of the Sociological Method

Durkheim’s Definition of Social Facts

• A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or gain, every way acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestations.

Get in the Elevator!

Violates Social Facts (Faces Social Sanctions)

Acts in Accordance with Social Facts

Social FactsNorms, Values, Customs, Laws

Suicide

Suicide• Written in 1897.• Goal was to use the

study of suicide to prove the existence of social facts.– To prove that behavior is

guided by social forces.

Understanding Suicide• What are some

reasons why people might commit suicide?

• Is suicide a personal trouble or a social issue?

• Do you think rates of suicide vary from place to place?

Durkheim’s Response to Country Level Suicide Data

• Durkheim noted that suicide rates differed, by country.

• He felt that differences in the rates of suicides suggested that more than indi vidual factors were operating.

• He thought that suicide must reflect changes in social circumstances. The problem was to discover the nature of these circumstances and their causes.

Durkheim’s Hypothesis• Durkheim arrived at his hypothesis that

the basic causes of suicide were social in nature.

• So he looked at how social factors might shape the likelihood of an individual to commit suicide:– Religion– Marital Status– Geography– Gender– Military Affiliation

FindingsSuicide Rate Higher Among• Protestants• Single People• Married, but Childless• City Dwellers• Men• Soldiers

Suicide Rates Lower Among• Catholics• Married People• Rural Residents• Parents• Women• Civilians

What’s Going on Here?

• Given these findings, what do you think explains why people commit suicide?

• What are your theories?

Suicide Rate Higher Among• Protestants• Single People• Married, but Childless• City Dwellers• Men• Soldiers

Suicide Rates Lower Among• Catholics• Married People• Rural Residents• Parents• Women• Civilians

Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide• From his evidence, Durkheim concluded

that the suicide rate was determined by the degree of social attachment.

• He discovered, however, that the relationship was a complex one.

• Suicide seemed to result from both unusually high levels and unusually low levels of social attachment.

The Four Types of Suicide

Altruistic Egoistic

Anomic Fatalistic

From his findings, he was able to generalize that there were four basic types of suicide:

Altruistic Suicide Excessive Integration

Heaven’s Gate Cult Suicide 1997

Egoistic SuicideLow Integration

Anomic Suicide Not Enough Integration

ANOMIE• A lack of regulation occurring with

breakdown of order in modern life

• Anomie is a constant feature of modern life

• Where do you see a similarity to Marx and Weber?

Fatalistic Suicide Excessive Regulation

The Suicide of Tyler Clementi

Elementary Forms of Religious Life

• RELIGION: “A unified system of beliefs and practices relating to sacred things … which unite into one single moral community called a church all those who adhere to them.”

• Durkheim studies religion as the fundamental institution of social life, upon which the collective identity is structured.

• Religion unites members through the creation of a collective conscience. All religious expression is founded on the identification of members to a group.

• Shared religious beliefs and values also reinforce the strength of the collective conscience.

Religion: The Origins of Collective Conscience

Why did Durkheim study “primitive” society to understand

religion?• Simplicity allows for analysis of

“essential” features.• These societies are different

enough from our own experience that we are able to see important features.

• Durkheim looked for “the elements which constitute that which is permanent and human in religion; they form all the objective contents of the idea which is expressed when one speaks of religion in general.”

Totemism

Sacred V. Profane• Religion is defined by the

cultural distinction between the sacred and profane.

• Sacred – objects extraordinary and set apart

• Profane – everyday, ordinary objects

• Notions of the sacred are given external representation through objects or symbols, called collective representations.

Religion and Collective Conscience• These social categories shape how we think and orient ourselves to world: time, space, quality . . .• Establish our basic categories of thought!

– “If men did not agree upon these essential ideas at every moment… all contact between their minds would be impossible, and with that, all life together. Thus societies could not abandon the categories to the free choice of the individual without abandoning itself.”

• Collective conscience guides human action!– “We have the feeling that we cannot abandon

them if our whole thought is not to cease being fully human.”

Function of Religion?• Religion is a way of expressing

and reaffirming shared social beliefs, a functional element of society.

• “There can be no society which does not feel the need of upholding and reaffirming at regular intervals the collective sentiments and collective ideals… This moral remaking cannot be achieved except by the means of reunions, assemblies, and meetings where individuals reaffirm their common sentiments.”

Small Group Discussion: Other Institutions as

“Religions”– Pick another social institution (ex. Education)

and apply Durkheim’s theory of the elementary forms of religion to it.

– What are some examples of the sacred and the profane in your institution? (Beliefs, values, cultural objects, etc.)

– Describe the group that it defines – Whose collective conscience does the institution reinforce?

– What are some important collective representations of the “religion?”

– Describe the positive and negative rituals associated with the institution– how do members reaffirm their membership?

Applying Durkheim

Analysis of the Documentary Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp• About the film:

– 2006 documentary about a charismatic Christian (Pentecostal Evangelicals) summer camp for children.

• Questions:– How are the religious beliefs of the church

profiled a reflection of their society?• What do they hold sacred, what do they deem

profane?– How is their worship an act of worshipping

society?– How is the mindset/worldview of the people

an example of anomie?– How is the church an example of extreme

social integration?– How would Marx interpret the film?