Stacey Seddon 10 January 2011 Social Theory (SOCI 101) Module Coordinator: Paul Jones 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. This essay will look at social facts and the significance of them to Durkheim’s work‚ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) a French sociologist wrote a series of controversial monographs‚ showing the methods and subject matter of the new science of
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Emile Durkheim introduced the concept of social facts explaining that “A social fact is any way of acting‚ whether fixed or not‚ capable of exerting over the individual an external constraint; or: which is general over the whole of a given society whilst having an existence of its own‚ independent of its individual manifestations.” (Durkheim‚ 1895/1982:59). In other words the ideals passed down to us that we pass down to our children‚ established patterns of human relations‚ which create a set of
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Social Theory II – Durkheim Required reading: PSN‚ pp. 265-278‚ and R. Cotterrell‚ Emile Durkheim: Law in a Moral Domain (1999)‚ Ch 7 (photocopied handout) Q: How far would Durkheim agree and disagree with Marx’s view of law? Q: Does modern law need a set of values to underpin it? Can sociology explain what values modern law must express? What answer to these questions does Durkheim give? Q: If Durkheim ’got legal evolution wrong’ does this destroy the significance of his view of law?
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A. Social Facts Durkheim defined social facts as things external to‚ and coercive of‚ the actor. These are created from collective forces and do not emanate from the individual (Hadden‚ p. 104). While they may not seem to be observable‚ social facts are things‚ and "are to be studied empirically‚ not philosophically" (Ritzer‚ p. 78). They cannot be deduced from pure reason or thought‚ but require a study of history and society in order to observe their effects and understand the nature of these
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SOCIAL FACTS - AGENCY/STRUCTURE - SOCIAL TYPES Social facts should be considered as things - in Durkheim’s view‚ they are things‚ meaning they are "sui generis‚" peculiar in their characteristics: they are the effect or creation of human activities‚ actions or agency but they are not intended; they are not the product of conscious intentions - they are the unanticipated consequence of human behavior/agency. Social facts are things because they are outside us‚ they are not a product or creation
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Social facts are described by Durkheim as the ways of acting feeling and thinking that are external but coercive of the individual. Social facts according to Durkheim are often linked to each other. There are interrelated and interdependent in their functions or how they work and affect society. There two types of social facts‚ namely‚ material social facts and non-material. Material social facts are social facts that are physical and less significant. They are things we see such as architecture
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Classical Theory SYA3110 Emile Durkheim Durkheim was known as the architect of social science and contributed a great deal to the social science community. Durkheim was not born with this title however. Durkheim was born from a long line of French Jews. His father‚ grandfather‚ and great grandfather were all rabbis. At an early stage in life however Durkheim made the decision not to follow in his family’s footsteps. He wanted to lead a completely secular life and much of his work was dedicated
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is study of the social forces that affect human activities and behavior. Social Forces are the human - created ways of doing things that influence‚ pressure‚ or force people to behave‚ interact with others‚ and think in specified ways. SOCIAL FACTS 9/29/2013 1 SOCIOLOGY: A DEFINITION Sociology is the scientific study of human activity in society. More specifically‚ it is study of the social forces that affect human activities and behavior. Social Forces are the
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1 - What is meant by the term ‘social integration’? How did Emile Durkheim explain the differences in integration between modern and pre-modern societies? Emile Durkheim introduced the theory of social integration in the late nineteenth century‚ it is the means through which people interact‚ connect and confirm each other within a community. It is a way of describing the established patterns of human relations in societies. The differences in integration between modern and pre-modern societies
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What is a Social Fact? Emile Durkheim Before beginning the search for the method appropriate to the study of social facts it is important to know what are the facts termed ’social’. The question is all the more necessary because the term is used without much precision. It is commonly used to designate almost all the phenomena that occur within society‚ however little social interest of some generality they present. Yet under this heading there is‚ so to speak‚ no human occurrence that cannot be
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