SOC 2112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Émile Durkheim, Sui Generis, Social Fact

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2112
• Professor: Joseph Sawan

Document Summary

First to hold an academic chair in socio. O(cid:272)iolog(cid:455) is (cid:862)the s(cid:272)ie(cid:374)(cid:272)e of i(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374)s, their ge(cid:374)esis, a(cid:374)d their fu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374)i(cid:374)g(cid:863) Son of a rabbi, attended rabbinical school but ultimately left. Strong academic ambition however, failed entrance exam to ecole normale. Ambivalent towards the ens (cid:862)he rese(cid:374)ted the (cid:272)lassi(cid:272)al a(cid:374)d literar(cid:455) (cid:271)ias to the studies a(cid:374)d the ge(cid:374)eral air of s(cid:374)o(cid:271)(cid:271)er(cid:455) of a(cid:374) i(cid:374)telle(cid:272)tual elite(cid:863) He had a significant amount of wealth and power during his time that a lot of other i(cid:374)di(cid:448)iduals did(cid:374)(cid:859)t ha(cid:448)e (cid:894)mar(cid:454) a(cid:374)d we(cid:271)er(cid:895) Is independent of the individuals who are affected by it: has no material existence. Consists of the external social forces that influence individuals (in addition to their psychological makeup and personal life experiences) Is sui generis, and therefore the properties that define society are distinct from other realities. Sociology should focus on discovering and interpreting what is external to the individual. Sociology is different from all other sciences.