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emile_durkheim [2021/06/28 22:44] – Ryan Schram (admin)emile_durkheim [2021/07/08 22:40] (current) – [References] Ryan Schram (admin)
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 # Emile Durkheim  # Emile Durkheim 
  
-<WRAP box right 35%>~~SIMILAR~~</WRAP>  +Emile Durkheim is one of the most significant social theorists of the twentieth century, credited with founding modern sociology and anthropology. Durkheim argued for a new conceptualization of [[society|society]] in which, as he famously said, one should "consider social facts as things" (Durkheim 1982 [1895]: 60). That is to say, one should regard the ideas, norms, rules and values which members of a society shared as if they were part of objective reality. As objective facts, "social things" (Lemert 2008) should not be treated as if they were mental constructs, but should be seen as something external to any one individual consciousness. Social facts impose themselves on individuals of a society, constraining them and shaping how they act.   
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-Emile Durkheim is one of the most significant social theorists of the twentieth century, credited with founding modern sociology and anthropology. Durkheim argued for a new conceptualization of [[society|society]] in which, as he famously said, one should "consider social facts as things" (Durkheim 1982 [1895]: 60). That is to say, one should regard the ideas, norms, rules and values which members of a society shared as if they were part of objective reality. As objective facts, "social things" (Lemert 2008) should not be treated as if they were mental constructs, but should be seen as something external to any one individual consciousness. Social facts impose themselves on individuals of a society, constraining them and shaping how they act. +
  
 The social facts of society are, in another way, like the thoughts of a collective mind. Individuals do not merely join or participate in a social system, but take part in a collective consciousness. Durkheim's conception of the individual subject is also influential in this regard. He defined the subject as *homo duplex* possessing a consciousness which was only partly its own, and partly something that belongs to a fusion of consciousnesses of all the members. The representations, rules and codes of society exist as part of this fusion of consciousnesses. Thus the collective consciousness influences each individual, and individuals experience this collective consciousness as if it were as it is was just the way things are. Durkheim's *homo duplex* is similar to other conceptions of a divided, dual subjectivity which emerge in the early 20th century and lead to new models of psychodynamic process and language. In this context, Durkheim paves the way for a break with the autonomous rational mind of the Enlightenment.  The social facts of society are, in another way, like the thoughts of a collective mind. Individuals do not merely join or participate in a social system, but take part in a collective consciousness. Durkheim's conception of the individual subject is also influential in this regard. He defined the subject as *homo duplex* possessing a consciousness which was only partly its own, and partly something that belongs to a fusion of consciousnesses of all the members. The representations, rules and codes of society exist as part of this fusion of consciousnesses. Thus the collective consciousness influences each individual, and individuals experience this collective consciousness as if it were as it is was just the way things are. Durkheim's *homo duplex* is similar to other conceptions of a divided, dual subjectivity which emerge in the early 20th century and lead to new models of psychodynamic process and language. In this context, Durkheim paves the way for a break with the autonomous rational mind of the Enlightenment. 
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 Recently an 1911 audiorecording of a lecture by Durkheim (2002) has come to light: http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2014/08/20/durkheim-viva-voce/. Recently an 1911 audiorecording of a lecture by Durkheim (2002) has come to light: http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2014/08/20/durkheim-viva-voce/.
  
-## References ##+## References
  
 Durkheim, Emile. 1982 [1895]. The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: Simon and Schuster. Durkheim, Emile. 1982 [1895]. The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: Simon and Schuster.
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 Lemert, Charles C. 2008. Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological Life, 4th ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lemert, Charles C. 2008. Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological Life, 4th ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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emile_durkheim.1624945464.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/06/28 22:44 by Ryan Schram (admin)