“Sociological method as we practice it rests wholly on the basic principle that social facts must be studied as things, that is, as realities external to the individual. There is no principle for which we have received more criticism; but none is more fundamental. Indubitably for sociology to be possible, it must above all have an object all its own. It must take cognizance of a reality which is not in the domain of other sciences... there can be no sociology unless societies exist, and that societies cannot exist if there are only individuals.” IfsFactsRealityIndividualSocialPrinciplesPracticeObjectsCriticismMethodFundamentalsSociologyDomainBasic PrinciplesSociological Author:Emile Durkheim
“At this point, an urgent question arises: [...] Is it our duty to seek to become a thorough and complete human being, one quite sufficient unto himself; or, on the contrary, to be only a part of a whole, the organ of an organism? Briefly, is the division of labor, at the same time that it is a law of nature, also a moral rule of human conduct; and, if it has this latter character, why and in what degree?” IfsHumansWholeCharacterLawHuman BeingsMoralDutyDegreesLaborContraryAriseSufficientLatterDivisionOrgansOrganismsUrgentLaws Of NatureThoroughDivision Of LaborParts Of A Whole Author:Emile Durkheim
“Man cannot become attached to higher aims and submit to a rule if he sees nothing above him to which he belongs. To free him from all social pressure is to abandon him to himself and demoralize him.” IfsMenSocialHigherPressureAimAbandonSubmitSocial Pressure Book:Suicide: A Study in Sociology Source: Suicide: A Study in Sociology
“Man could not live if he were entirely impervious to sadness. Many sorrows can be endured only by being embraced, and the pleasure taken in them naturally has a somewhat melancholy character.” IfsMenLifeCharacterPleasureTakenSadnessSorrowSadLive LifeMelancholyImperviousSadness And Sorrow Book:Suicide: A Study in Sociology Source: Suicide: A Study in Sociology
“Society is not a mere sum of individuals. Rather, the system formed by their association represents a specific reality which has its own characteristics... The group thinks, feels, and acts quite differently from the way in which its members would were they isolated. If, then, we begin with the individual, we shall be able to understand nothing of what takes place in the group.” IfsThinkingWayFeelsRealityAbleIndividualGroupsHuman NatureMembersMereCharacteristicsAssociationIsolatedIf Then Author:Emile Durkheim
“For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and themselves were of religious origin. There is no religion that is not a cosmology at the same time that it is a speculation upon divine things. If philosophy and the sciences were born of religion, it is because religion began by taking the place of the sciences and philosophy.” IfsMenWorldFirstsLongHas BeensPhilosophyScienceReligionBornReligiousKnownDivineLong TimeAccountsRepresentationSpeculationCosmologyScience And Philosophy Author:Emile Durkheim
“Science cannot describe individuals, but only types. If human societies cannot be classified, they must remain inaccessible to scientific description.” IfsHumansScienceIndividualSocietyTypeAccountsDescriptionHuman SocietyInaccessible Author:Emile Durkheim
“If one class of society is obliged, in order to live, to take any price for its services, while another can abstain from such action thanks to resources at its disposal which, however, are not necessarily due to any social superiority, the second has an unjust advantage over the first at law. In other words, there cannot be rich and poor a birth without there being unjust contracts.” IfsFirstsActionLawOrderSocialPoorClassRichBirthResourcesAdvantageDuesThanksContractsSuperiorityUnjustObligedRich And PoorClasses Of Society Author:Emile Durkheim
“If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.” IfsIdeasSoulGivenBirthEssentials Book:Emile Durkheim on Morality and Society Source: Emile Durkheim on Morality and Society
