SOCIOLOGY: THEORY

Sociology: Theory



Sociology: Theory

Introduction

Emile Durkheim was born in France, and is broadly regarded as the 'founding dad' who put sociology on a professional footing in France in particular, and paved the way for this professionalisation to happen over the rest of Europe. He is now broadly considered as the dad' of the so-called Structural-Functionalist approach in sociology: an approach evolved by the North American sociologists Talcott Parsons, and Roberts Merton.

Durkheim habitually perceived his objective as setting up the legitimacy of sociology as a research, with it's own protocols and domain. To illustrate that society can be analysed scientifically, he wrote perhaps his best renowned work, on suicide. In this he seeks to demonstrate that even a highly individualistic act, such as suicide, has an important social context to it; and that the field of sociology is the best for its interpretation.

Durkheim's other important contribution to sociological theory, was his work on social values and alienation, and his Functionalist approach to social phenomena, and the division of labour.

Theories

The work of Durkheim is now conventionally described as a Functionalist approach to society whereby society is seen as a unity of integrated working parts. The functionalist believes that each part of the whole has a part to play in maintaining the continued existence of the whole, or Society. A functionalist can make an analogy with a machine, in order to illustrate their point, however Durkhiem uses the 'biological analogy', equating complex modern societies with the human body. This biological analogy permits a functionalist, such as Durkheim to make explicit their holistic approach to the study of social phenomenon. Society exists 'Sui Generis'. 'Society' has a life of it's own and beyond the existence of the individuals who inhabit that society. Two further points are made using this analogy. Firstly, that the various parts of the organism known as society are to be considered 'par totalis' of the whole. This means that for the functionalist each part of the whole is considered a microcosm of the whole. Secondly, this means that each element of society, whether an individual, or a social institution, will have, as it'' main function, the maintenance of the stability and order of the whole society. Society is seen as resting on a consensus of aims and values.

According to Durkheim humanity arrives in two forms, interior, and external. Firstly the internal society forms the 'collective moral conscience' (Farganis), it is seen as the defining mechanism in shaping our beliefs and attitudes, for survival in the world. If society does not conform to the interior humanity, then communal isolation, mock, and other types of penalty could occur. Examples of forces that maintain the internal society are the Religion, the Education and Legal systems. Durkheim saw society as using these 'tools' to attempt the maintenance of social order, and the construction of a socially acceptable individual.

External to society is the actual pressure from the community to conform to the collective, that is ways of thinking, acting, and feelings are external to ...