There would be no need for sociology if everyone understood the social frameworks within which we operate. That we do have a connection to the larger picture is largely thanks to the pioneering thinker Émile Durkheim. He recognized that, if anything can explain how we as individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why is it more common in some places than others? In seeking answers to these questions, Durkheim wrote a work that has fascinated, challenged and informed its readers for over a hundred years. Far-sighted and trail-blazing in its conclusions, Suicide makes an immense contribution to our understanding to what must surely be one of the least understandable of acts. A brilliant study, it is regarded as one of the most important books Durkheim ever wrote.
In 1893, a young doctoral student was to publish an entirely original work on the nature of labor and production as they were being shaped by the industrial revolution. Emile Durkheim's The Division of Labor in Society studies the nature of social solidarity and explores the ties that bind one person to the next in order to hold society together. This revised and updated second edition fluently conveys original arguments for contemporary readers. Leading Durkheim scholar Steve Lukes's new introduction builds upon Lewis Coser's original -- which places the work in its intellectual and historical context and pinpoints its central ideas and arguments -- by focusing on the text's significance for how we ought to think sociologically about some central problems that face us today."--Back cover.
Revised for the first time in over thirty years, this edition of Emile Durkheim’s masterful work on the nature and scope of sociology is updated with a new introduction and improved translation by leading scholar Steven Lukes that puts Durkheim’s work into context for the twenty-first century reader. The Rules of Sociological Method represents Emile Durkheim’s manifesto for sociology. He argues forcefully for the objective, scientific, and methodological underpinnings of sociology as a discipline and establishes guiding principles for future research. The substantial new introduction by leading Durkheim scholar Steven Lukes explains and sets into context Durkheim’s arguments. Lukes examines the still-controversial debates about The Rules of Sociological Method’s six chapters and explains their relevance to present-day sociology. The edition also includes Durkheim’s subsequent thoughts on method in the form of articles, debates with scholars from other disciplines, and letters. The original translation has been revised and reworked in order to make Durkheim’s arguments clearer and easier to read. This is an essential resource for students and scholars hoping to deepen their understanding of one of the pioneering voices in modern sociology and twentieth-century social thought.
18 lectures by an influential theorist who discusses school as an appropriate setting for moral education. A pioneer of sociology, Durkheim explains the first element in fostering morality as the development of a sense of discipline, followed by a willingness to behave in accordance with collective interest, and a sense of autonomy.
Ranging from Durkheim's original lecture in sociology to an excerpt from the work incomplete at his death, these selections illuminate his multiple approaches to the crucial concept of social solidarity and the study of institutions as diverse as the law, morality, and the family. Durkheim's focus on social solidarity convinced him that sociology must investigate the way that individual behavior itself is the product of social forces. As these writings make clear, Durkheim pursued his powerful model of sociology through many fields, eventually synthesizing both materialist and idealist viewpoints into his functionalist model of society.
Emile Durkheim's On Suicide (1897) was a groundbreaking book in the field of sociology. Traditionally, suicide was thought to be a matter of purely individual despair but Durkheim recognized that the phenomenon had a social dimension. He believed that if anything can explain how individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why do certain social, religious or racial groups have higher incidences of suicide than others? As Durkheim explored these questions he became convinced that abnormally high or low levels of social integration lead to an increased likelihood of suicide. On Suicide was the result of his extensive research. Divided into three parts - individual reasons for suicide, social forms of suicide and the relation of suicide to society as a whole - Durkheim's revelations have fascinated, challenged and informed readers for over a century.
Moving back and forth between the history of philosophy and the contributions of philosophers in his own day, Durkheim takes up topics as diverse as philosophical psychology, logic, ethics, and metaphysics, and seeks to articulate a unified philosophical position. Remarkably, in these lectures, given more than a decade before the publication of his groundbreaking book, The Division of Labour in Society (1893), the 'social realism' that is so characteristic of his later work - where he insists, famously, that social facts cannot be reduced to psychological or economic ones, and that such facts constrain human action in important ways - is totally absent in these early lectures. For this reason, they will be of special interest to students of the history of the social sciences, for they shed important light on the course of Durkheim's intellectual development.
This revised and updated second edition of The Rules of Sociological Method and Selected Texts on Sociology and its Method represents Durkheim's manifesto for sociology. In it he sought to establish sociology's scientific credentials and to provide guiding principles for future research. With a substantial new introduction by the leading Durkheim scholar Steven Lukes, the book explains the original argument and sets it in context. In addition, the still controversial debates about The Rules of Sociological Method's six chapters are examined and their relevance to present-day sociology is discussed. Also included are Durkheim's subsequent thoughts on method in the form of articles, debates with scholars from other disciplines, and letters. This edition contains helpful learning features to help introduce a new generation of sociology students to Durkheim's rich contribution to the field. This new edition offers an improved translation of one of Durkheim's cornerstone texts. With a substantial new introduction by world-renowned Durkheim scholar, Steven Lukes, the book explains the original argument and sets it in context. It will engage a new generation of students with Durkheim's rich contribution to the field.
The famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim is universally recognised as one of the founding fathers of sociology as an academic discipline. He wrote on the division of labour, methodology, suicide and education, but his most prolific and influential works were his writings on religion, which culminated in his controversial book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Although his influence continued long after his death in 1917, this is the first book to provide a detailed look at the whole of his work in the field of religion. Durkheim on Religion is a selection of readings from Durkheim's writings on religion, presented in order of original publication, ranging from early reviews to articles and extracts from his books. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner. This book will be invaluable to those studying sociology and anthropology, but will also be of interest to those studying the history or philosophy of religion, as well as to anyone with an interest in Durkheim.
First published in English in 1953, this volume represents a collection of three essays written by seminal sociologist and philsopher Emile Durkheim in which he puts forward the thesis that society is both a dynamic system and the seat of moral life. Each essay stands alone, but their connecting thread is the dialectic demonstration that a phenomenon, be a sociological or psychological one, is relatively independent of its matrix. The essays provide a valuable insight into Durkeheimian thought on sociological and philsophical matters and offer an excellent guide to Durkheim for students of both disciplines.
French sociologist Emile Durkheim set out to explore religion as a social phenomenon, and in 1912 published his results in 'Elementary Forms of Religious Life.' The relationship between humans and society fascinated Durkheim, leading him to research the simplest form of documented religion amongst the Aborigines of Australia and Pueblo Indians. 'Elementary Forms of Religious Life' is an important read for the interested mind-sparking debate and admiration in many fields such as theology, sociology and anthropology
Emile Durkheim, whose writings still exert a great influence over sociological thought, has often been called the father of the sociology of education. He lectured extensively on the subject, and was convinced of its necessary place in social theory. Buthis work cannot be fully understood unless it is realized that he had an overriding concern form morals. He saw the relationship between morals and education as almost that of theory to practice, yet he never wrote a systematic work on the subject of morals, although for some time he planned such a book and managed just before he died in 1917 to write the opening introduction. This collection of Durkheim's work on morals and education brings together many items translated into English for the first time.A wide selection of articles, reviews and discussions has been included in this book, covering such subjects as, defining morals, the science of morality, moral facts, relativism, the relation of science to morality; and in education, problems of definition, childhood, sex education, Rousseau's 'Emile', teaching secular morality and the effectiveness of moral doctrines. The book also included an introduction to each of the two sections, as well as bibliographies which deal with Durkheim's own works on morals and education, together with those covering references to his writing on these subjects written by others.
Arguably sociology's first classic and one of Durkheim's major works, The Division of Labour in Society studies the nature of social solidarity, exploring the ties that bind one person to the next so as to hold society together in conditions of modernity. In this revised and updated second edition, leading Durkheim scholar Steven Lukes' new introduction builds upon Lewis Coser's original – which places the work in its intellectual and historical context and pinpoints its central ideas and arguments – by focusing on the text's significance for how we ought to think sociologically about some central problems that face us today. For example: What does this text have to tell us about modernity and individualism? In what ways does it offer a distinctive critique of the ills of capitalism? With helpful introductions and learning features this remains an indispensable companion for students of sociology. A refreshed translation of one of the key works in the sociological canon, this new edition carefully guides students through the text, critically engaging with Durkheim's writing while clearly explaining his original argument. Additional material and a new introduction by Steven Lukes make this essential reading for scholars and students alike.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was one of the founders of modern sociology. Ethics and the Sociology of Morals (La science positive de la morale en Allemagne) laid the foundation for Durkheim''s future work. More than a review of current thought, it was a proclamation that ethics needed to be liberated from its philosophical bondage and developed as a distinct branch of sociology. Written when Durkheim was charting the course of his own research, it provides a unique key to the interpretation of his earlier work and presents a number of points of Durkheim''s ethical theory which are of considerable interest in light of current ethical theory. This volume makes available in English a crucial essay by a master of social thought.
Of Durkheim's key works the most neglected is Professional Ethics and Civic Morals. This is not only careless it is also negligent for the book makes a seminal contribution to our understanding of the State. Durkheim's characterization of the State as the ultimate moral force in society is an important contrast to the views outlined by both Marx and Weber.
The French Sociologist Émile Durkheim is commonly cited as the father of sociology. Principle to the work of Durkheim was his concern with regard to how modernity was effecting traditional social and religious institutions, more specifically with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in an era in which new social institutions were coming into being. One of his principles works, "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life" is a comparative theory of the religious lives of ancient and modern societies and the sociological influence of their respective religious institutions. Durkheim argues that the essence of religion is the concept of the sacred and it is this single phenomenon that is common to all religions. The work extensively discusses the concept of the sacred by examining the worship of totems in ancient religions and by arguing that modern societies have displaced this totemism by ascribing a new form of sacredness to the individual and individual rights. "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life" is a compelling exposition on the impact of religious institutions in ancient and modern life and a worthy read for anyone interested in religious or sociological studies. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.
Durkheim’s study of socialism, first published in English in 1959, is a document of exceptional intellectual interest and a genuine milestone in the history of sociological theory. It presents us with the sociological theories of a truly first-rate thinker and his extensive commentary upon another key figure in the history of sociological thought, Henri Saint-Simon. The core of this volume contains Durkheim’s presentation of Saint-Simon’s ideas, their sources and their development.
Tidak diragukan lagi, pendekatan social yang agresif dari Emile Durkheim ini telah memberikan sebuah teori yang sangat orisinal dan mengagumkan tentang agama. Sebuah karaya maha penting dan legendaris.” (Daniel L. Pals, penulis buku Seven Theories of Religion) Buku ini meupakan magnum opus dalam bidang studi sosiologi agama yang akan senantiasa dikaji oleh setiap generasi manusia. Melalui buku ini, Emile Durkheim memetakan kerangka historis “agama-agama dasar” dalam konteks dasar-dasar sosiologis dan implikasi-implikasi sosialnya, yang kemudian menjadi “roh” suatu masyarakat. Kendati memang harus buru-buru dinyatakan pula bahwa Durkheim sebenarnya tergolong kelompok reduksionis agama (sebagaimana Freud dan Marx) – lantaran ia hanya menempatkan agama sebagai salah satu dari jubelan konstruksi nilai yang menjiwai kehidupan masyarakat, sehingga agama bisa saja digantikan oleh “entitas lain” – namun Durkheim tampak jauh lebih maju dan otoritatif ketimbang teoretikus-teoritikus lainnya (sebutlah E.B. Tylor, J.G. Frazer, dan Mircea Eliade). Utamanya dalam membedah berbagai varian yang secara akademis disepakati sebagai “elemen dasar agama”, seperti Yang Sakral dan Profan, Totem, Taboo, roh, arwah leluhur, sakramen, pengorbanan, magis, ataupun ritual. Buku besar ini akan memberikan pengetahuan mendasar bagi kita dalam mempelajari relasi agama dan konstruksi social suatu masyarakat. Termasuk dalam tatanan social masyarakat kontemporer di era kita ini.
First Published in 2005. Emile Durkheim's writing on education is well-known and widely recognized to be of great significance. In these lectures - given for the first time in 1902 to meet an urgent contemporary need - Durkheim presents a 'vast and bold fresco' of educational development in Europe. He covers nearly eight hundred years of history. The book culminates in two long chapters of positive recommendations for modern curriculum, which should be of special interest and value to those concerned with education policy, in whatever capacity.
In this influential work, first published in English in 1963, Durkheim and Mauss claim that the individual mind is capable of classification and they seek the origin of the ‘classificatory function’ in society. On the basis of an intensive examination of forms and principles of symbolic classification reported from the Australian aborigines, the Zuñi and traditional China, they try to establish a formal correspondence between social and symbolic classification. From this they argue that the mode of classification is determined by the form of society and that the notions of space, time, hierarchy, number, class and other such cognitive categories are products of society. Dr Needham’s introduction assesses the validity of Durkhiem and Mauss’s argument, traces its continued influence in various disciplines, and indicates its analytical value for future researches in social anthropology.
Karen Fields has given us a splendid new translation of the greatest work of sociology ever written, one we will not be embarrassed to assign to our students. In addition she has written a brilliant and profound introduction. The publication of this translation is an occasion for general celebration, for a veritable 'collective effervescence.' -- Robert N. Bellah Co-author of Habits of the Heart, and editor of Emile Durkheim on Morality and Society "This superb new translation finally allows non-French speaking American readers fully to appreciate Durkheim's genius. It is a labor of love for which all scholars must be grateful." --Lewis A. Coser
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