By a social fact, Durkheim is referring to social fact which is not from an individual responses and preferences, but that come from the social community which socializes each of the member of the community. Reference Durkheim, E. (1979) Suicide: A study in Sociology. New York: Macmillan Durkheim, E. (1982) The Rules Of The Sociological Method. Trans W.D. Halls.
His theories were founded on the concept of social facts, defined as the norms, values, and structures of society for example; institutions, culture, beliefs, etc. which are external in nature to the individual
Durkheim's theory regarding social facts particularly show the difference between Sociology with any relatively similiar subject such as Psychology or Philosophy. Social facts could be divided in two, material or immaterial. What interested Durkheim most was the study of immaterial social facts which include
Nor is it constrained by instrumental goals. In addressing concerns about the validity of interpretive sociological research, the noted sociologist Anthony Giddens proposed three kinds of sociological imagination, which he hoped would further understanding of social structure. He categorized them as: historical, cultural and critical. Given that the sociological imagination can be described as an attempt to understand what is going on around us in order to “seek to understand the present”, Gidden (1997, p. 578) notes that the complexity of human behavior means that “it is very unlikely that a single theoretical perspective could cover all its
Whereas, Weber owed his approach much to the Neo-Kantian Philosophy. Therefore, When Durkheim talked about (Social Facts- indicated that there were forces beyond individual control that affected their behaviour in any society.) society’s objective and measurable emphasises on individual. Weber was more interested in explaining the subjective interpretation and meaning that individual put on their behaviour to understand the society (Symbolic Interactionism). Both called for using the “scientific methods” to the study of society, while placing the stress over objectivity, however, their interpretation and ideology behind of “Objectivity” were profoundly different.
First, it is important to contrast the way the two men understood the formation and evolution of societies, or cultures. Durkheim’s understanding of society was functionalist in nature (Pope, 1975, p. 361). This means, more specifically, that he viewed society as a whole composed of interrelated parts, assumed the tendency toward system stability, considered how society and social order is possible, and viewed structures in terms of their perpetuation or evolutionary development (Pope, 1975, p. 361). In contrast, however, Boas “felt that 19th century cultural evolutionists made premature generalizations based on poor and inadequate information (Helm, 2001, p.41). Instead, Boas, a trained scientist who did extensive fieldwork in the Pacific
Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist born in 1858. He is known for being one of the main founders of modern sociology. Emile Durkheim is credited with making sociology a science and did lots of research which still stands today. Durkheim claimed that human societies could be studied scientifically. Durkheim published a book called “Suicide” along with many others, which were all very influential.
He helped I the establishment on sociology as a new academic deciplain ,he also wrote about the effect of laws religion education forces on social integration and last with the practical implication of scientific knowledge. He main themes of work are He recognized that society exist beyond yourself. Society is more than th individual who compose it. 1. He elaborated society on the basis of scientific way.
These things could include social institutions, rules, values, and norms. They have control over an individual’s life. Durkheim believed that society was made of individuals, but in order to study society we must look beyond the individual to the social facts. Social facts act external to the individual and impose themselves upon the individual, according to Emile Durkheim. If the rules of social facts are violated then there can be punishment or social ridicule.
All along his vocation Durkheim was concerned with moral facts. Durkheim used to concept of moral facts to denote structural patterns as well as systems of symbols such as values, notions, norms, laws in his early work. He later dropped extensive utilization of this term in favour of collective representations which integrates little elucidation. People are born into the collective conscience or the culture of society and this culture regulates their perceptions. Collective conscience is a force to coalescence for society utilizing credences, conceptions and moral postures.