SOCI 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Mechanical And Organic Solidarity, Collective Consciousness, Class Conflict
Document Summary
Durkheim sees a society around him riddled with class conflict due to industrialization. Wants to figure out what kinds of rules, norms, and practices a society should have to have more solidarity. Society- a cyclical existence full of bonds with other things and people. Society works bc it is inside us. Mechanical- the sense of connectedness with other people based on the fact that they are like me. Collective consciousness- the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of society. A mental attitude, a set of sentiments the average member of society possesses to other people. A mental disposition, structure that shapes us and orients us. Independent of the positions people find themselves in. The power of collective consciousness is that the norm is so strong you cannot deviate from it. Need to look at how strong social pressure is. However, we are not dealing with societies frozen in time.
