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Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim Quotes

Sociologist

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Famous Emile Durkheim Quotes

“Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because of his learning. It is certainly not the learning he acquires that disorganizes religion; but the desire for knowledge wakens because religion becomes disorganized.”

MenDoeDesireReligiousLossAcquireCohesionDisorganizedDesire For Knowledge
Book:Durkheim on Religion: A Selection of Readings with Bibliographies and Introductory Remarks
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“What history teaches us is that man does not change arbitrarily; he does not transform himself at will on hearing the voices of inspired prophets. The reason is that all change, in colliding with the inherited institutions of the past, is inevitably hard and laborious; consequently it only takes place in response to the demands of necessity. For change to be brought about it is not enough that it should be seen as desirable; it must be the product of changes within the whole network of diverse casual relationships which then determine the situation of man.”

MenShouldDoeHardReasonEnoughWholePastVoiceSituationTeachProductsDemandInstitutionsResponseInspiredDetermineHearingProphetDiverseDesirableCasualCasual Relationships
Author:Emile Durkheim
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“One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain one bestows on it the name of infinity; this does not change its nature. When one feels such pleasure in non-existence, one's inclination can be completely satisfied only by completely ceasing to exist.”

FeelsLongDoeNamesPleasureExistenceSatisfiedVainContemplationEmptinessInfinityInclinationNon Existence
Book:Suicide: A Study in Sociology
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“It is a quite remarkable fact that the great religions of the most civilized peoples are more deeply fraught with sadness than the simpler beliefs of earlier societies. This certainly does not mean that the current of pessimism is eventually to submerge the other, but it proves that it does not lose ground and that it does not seem destined to disappear.”

MeanDoeFactsSeemsBeliefLosesSadnessProveCurrentsDisappearRemarkableCivilizedPessimismDestined
Book:Suicide: A Study in Sociology
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