Introducing Western Sociologists

Question
CBSEENSO11023131

Discuss like sketch of Emile Durkheim. What is his opinion about classification of Social Types ?

Solution

I. Life Sketch of Emile Durkheim :

1. Early Life : Emile Durkheim was born in 1853 in France. He completed his early education at Ecole. He was impressed by the thoughts of several scholars at Ecole. He appreciated Renouvier’s commitment to rationalism, his concern with scientific study of morality, his anti-utilitarianism, and his advocacy of secular education.

2. Durkheim efforts for the Sociology as a separate Subject. Boutroux, Emile Durkheim derived the principle that each science is irreducible to the principle shaped Durkheim own conceptualism of the distinctive subject matter and methodology of Sociology. Under Boutroux’s guidance he also engaged in a close reading of Auguste Compte, the inventor of the term ‘Sociology’. After his graduation from the Ecole Durkheim began working for the doctoral degree.

In 1885-86, Durkheim spent an academic year in Germany studying contemporary development in social philosophy and ‘Collectivity Psychological’. There he obtained a clear sense of social reality, of its organic complexity and development. By 1886, Emile Durkheim prepared the first draft of his major doctoral dissertation, which was to become The Division of Labour in Society. It dealt chiefly with the relation between individual personality and social solidarity.

3. Fifteen years of Durkheim at Bordeaux. In fact after Ecole nearly fifteen years of Emile Durkheim at Bordeanx proved to be extremely fuitful. In addition to numerous reviews and articles, he published several books.

Emile Durkheim’s lectures on sociological subjects further strengthened the claim for sociology as a separate discipline. In addition, Durkheim founded L’ Anne Sociologique (1898-1913), the first social science journal in France.

II. Classification of Social Types : Emile Durkheim maintains that in order to understand and explain social facts, we must classify societies into “types”, as problems and their explanations will vary for each type.

A social fact is normal or pathological only in relation to a society. Emile Durkheim proposes that we must study particular society completely and then compare these to see the similarities and differences.

Emile Durkheim desires societies to be classified to their degree of organisation, taking as the basis of the ‘perfectly simple society’ or ‘society of one segment’ like the horde.

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