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Emile Durkheim Quotes

Sociologist

Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist born on April 15, 1858, and died on November 15, 1917, is considered the father of sociology. His work profoundly influenced the understanding of social structure, social functions, and collective consciousness.

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Famous Emile Durkheim Quotes

“There is a collective as well as an individual humor inclining peoples to sadness or cheerfulness, making them see things in bright or somber lights. In fact, only society can pass a collective opinion on the value of human life; for this the individual is incompetent.”

Humans Wells Facts Light Values Individual Opinion Sadness Human Life Collectives Cheerfulness Incompetent Somber Value Of Human Life

Book:Suicide

Source: Suicide

“Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities.”

Reality Religious Collectives Representation

Book:The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Source: The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

“This solidarity can grow only in inverse ratio to personality... Solidarity which comes from likenesses is at its maximum when the collective conscience completely envelops our whole conscience and coincides in all points with it... when this solidarity exercises its force, our personality vanishes, as our definition permits us to say, for we are no longer ourselves, but the collective life.”

Whole Force Grows Personality Exercise Conscience Definitions Collectives Permit Solidarity Maximum Ratios Inverse

Author:Emile Durkheim

“The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own. It can be termed the collective or creative consciousness.”

Form Belief Common Consciousness Creative Members Average Collectives Sentiments Totality

Author:Emile Durkheim

About the Author

Born: April 15, 1858
Died: November 15, 1917
Known for: Sociologist
Quotes: 69

Books & Sources

SuicideRelated source material

Suicide: A Study in SociologyRelated source material

Emile Durkheim on Morality and SocietyRelated source material

Durkheim on Religion: A Selection of Readings with Bibliographies and Introductory RemarksRelated source material

The Division of Labor in SocietyRelated source material

The Rules of Sociological Method: And Selected Texts on Sociology and its MethodRelated source material

The Elementary Forms of the Religious LifeRelated source material

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