330 likes | 1.9k Views
Emile Durkheim. 1. Structure: Society Beyond Ourselves. Society is more than the individuals who compose it. Norms, values and beliefs are established structures and are considered to be social facts . Society has the power to guide our thoughts and actions.
E N D
1. Structure: Society Beyond Ourselves • Society is more than the individuals who compose it. • Norms, values and beliefs are established structures and are considered to be social facts. • Society has the power to guide our thoughts and actions. • Once it is established, society takes on a life of its own.
2. Function: Society as a System • Everything has a function • Even crime has a vital function in the operation of society.
3. Personality: Society in Ourselves • Humans internalize social facts • We think and feel based on how society nurtures us • Humans are naturally insatiable and are in constant danger of being taken over by desires • Society gives us life, but also reins us in. • Durkheim suggested that people with weak social ties are more prone to self-destructive behavior.
Vocabulary • Anomie – a condition in which society provides little moral support (Macionis p. 108) • Mechanical solidarity – social bonds based on common sentiments and shared moral values, that are strong among members of preindustrial societies. (Macionis p. 109) • Organic solidarity – social bonds, based on specialization and interdependence, that are strong among members of industrial societies (Macionis p. 109) • Division of labor – specialized tasks or specialized economic activity
Discussed social bonds (the forces that hold societies together) The key to social change is the expanding division of labor Durkheim’s Theory
More technology = Greater personal freedoms • Greater personal freedoms = declining morality and greater risk of anomie • Durkheim had more hope for modern society than Marx or Weber.