Emil Durkheim (years of life - 1858-1917) is one of the prominent sociologists. He was born in France, in the city of Epinal. Emil's father was a rabbi.
Period of study
The future sociologist graduated from college in Epinal, and then went to Paris to continue his studies. In the French capital, he lived the bulk of his life. Here he created many works, founded the Department of Sociology of the Sorbonne. Durkheim was preparing for an exam at the Higher Normal School in the Lyceum of Louis the Great. He passed the exam in 1879. At this time, he met at the Joffre guesthouse with J. Jaurès. This man subsequently became the leader of the socialist party, a fighter against war, militarism and colonialism. Higher normal school was considered one of the best educational institutions in France at that time. Here Durkheim listened to lectures by famous professors - the philosopher E. Bougueret and the historian F. de Coulange. In 1882, Emil passed the exam and received the title of teacher of philosophy. After which he left for three years to teach this subject in Sana'a and Saint-Quentin.
The appearance of the first scientific articles, lecturing
Durkheim in 1885-1886 decided to take an annual vacation and devote this time to the study of social sciences. First, he "improved his qualifications" (as they say today) in Paris, and then in Germany, with W. Wundt, a well-known social psychologist. This allowed Durkheim to write and publish next year immediately 3 articles.
Then, in 1887, he was appointed by the decision of the Minister a professor of sociology and pedagogy at the University of Bordeaux. It should be said that the course that Emil Durkheim taught here was the first course in sociology at universities in France. One more circumstance should be noted: pedagogy and sociology from this period began to be closely intertwined in the practical and theoretical activities of this scientist. Durkheim in the late 1880s - early 1890s continued to teach, and also created articles on various topics: the definition of socialism, the murder and childbirth, etc.
Proceedings of the last decade of the 19th century
Emil Durkheim wrote books at different times, however, from this point of view, the last decade of the 19th century is the most fruitful stage in his work. In 1893, Emil defended his doctoral dissertation, speaking with the work "On the division of social labor." In addition, he wrote in Latin another dissertation - "Contribution Montesquieu in the formation of social science." In the same year, the first of them was published in the form of a book. In 1895, the monograph created by Emil Durkheim, “The Method of Sociology,” was published.
And after 2 years, in 1897, his work “Suicide” appears. In addition to three fundamental works, Durkheim published a number of major articles in the journal Philosophical Review, as well as in the Sociological Yearbook, which he founded in 1896. Thus, this decade has become very productive in a creative sense for such a scientist as Emil Durkheim. Thanks to his work, sociology received a new impetus to development.
Work at the Sorbonne, interest in religious studies
In 1902, a new stage began in the activities of Durkheim. At this time, he was invited to work at the Sorbonne as a freelance employee in the department of pedagogy. In addition to the issues of upbringing and education, which very attract Emil as a theorist and practice teacher, Durkheim is becoming more and more interested in religious issues. In the end, his long-standing interest in this topic is reflected in another fundamental work written in 1912 ("Elementary forms of religious life"). This work, many experts studying the work of Emil Durkheim, consider his most significant work. Since 1906, Emil has become a full-time professor at the Sorbonne, as well as the head of the department of pedagogy, which in 1913 became known as the department of sociology.
Studying the problems of upbringing, education, moral consciousness
All this time, the scientist spends a lot of time studying the issues of upbringing, education, moral consciousness. It should be called in this regard, the famous lecture of Durkheim "Pedagogy and Sociology", which was published as a separate work. This also includes the message "Determination of moral fact", which was made in the French Philosophical Society by Emil Durkheim. The contribution to the sociology of these works was also significant.
Son's death
The world war, which began in 1914, brings suffering and grief to Durkheim. On the Thessaloniki front, his son was killed in 1915. He was a young, promising sociologist, in whom Emil saw his successor and successor. The death of his only son exacerbated Durkheim’s disease and accelerated his death. Emil passed away in November 1917.
Public Conversion Plans
Emil acutely felt the crisis of bourgeois society. With all his strength, he tried to oppose him with plans for social reconstruction, sociologically justified. To achieve his goal, Durkheim actively used the slogan of social solidarity, popular in the late 19th - early 20th century. The scientist devoted much time to his theoretical substantiation. Durkheim, being reformed and anti-revolutionary, welcomed the creation of professional corporations. According to the scientist, they could significantly improve morality in society. Working for a long time in the field of practical and theoretical pedagogy, Durkheim believed that the entire system of upbringing and education should be subject to substantial restructuring. In this process, in his opinion, it was sociology that should play a big positive role. Emil Durkheim, a brief look at the society of which we just described, was not just interested in moral issues. He took concrete actions to implement his ideas. Thanks to them, a law was even passed, which we will now discuss.
Law promulgated by Durkheim's research
Emil's studies of religion, which he carried out in parallel with the study of education and upbringing, led Durkheim to understand that the influence of the church on university and school education should be excluded. The scientist believed that it was necessary to fight against the dominance of clerics. Durkheim made a great contribution to the justification of the policy of separating the church from the state and the school. This struggle was successful: in 1905, the corresponding law was passed in France.
Pupils of Durkheim, attitude towards socialism
Emil left behind a whole school of sociologists that lasted until the early 1930s. Among his students there were many famous researchers: M. Halbwax, M. Moss, E. Levy-Bruhl, F. Simian, A. Herz, A. Hubert and others. Durkheim was no stranger to politics. It is known about the thinker's connections with the French socialists, as well as about his friendship with J. Jaures, their leader. Much has been written and discussed about this in due time. However, Durkheim's attitude to socialism was ambiguous. In particular, Emil regarded him as an erroneous economic doctrine, which, in addition, does not pay due attention to moral problems. On the issue of conflict between classes, which the socialists considered almost the main problem in society, the French sociologist also had a different opinion. He believed that only as a result of reforms in the structure of society will an improvement in the lives of workers come. Moreover, these reforms should be adopted after all classes have recognized the need for them. Only then will the improvement of workers' lives not lead to social conflicts.
We offer you a closer look at two problems, suicide and religion, which Emil Durkheim devoted a lot of time to studying.
Briefly about the problem of suicide
Emil collected and analyzed statistics reflecting the dynamics of suicides in Europe. He did this in order to refute the theory that this act was explained by biological, geographical, seasonal, psychopathological or psychological factors. Durkheim believed that only sociology can explain the differences in the number of suicides that occur in different periods in different countries. The scientist put forward an alternative opinion. He suggested that suicide is a "social fact" (Emil Durkheim is considered the creator of this term), that is, it is a product of agreements, expectations and meanings arising from the interaction of people among themselves. The scientist identified the types of suicides. They are caused by different strengths of influence on an individual of existing norms in society.
Suicide types
The first type is observed when a person intentionally breaks social ties. This is selfish suicide.
The second type arises as a result of the fact that a person is completely integrated into the social environment. This suicide is altruistic. An example of this is the captain, who, according to the code of honor, must drown with his ship during a shipwreck.
Another type is abnormal suicide. It is due to the fact that in society there is a loss of the value system. The old norms no longer work in it, and the new ones have not yet formed. Emil Durkheim, whose theory is marked by the creation of a whole series of new concepts, called this state "social anomie." From his point of view, it is characteristic of societies undergoing transformation (for example, rapid urbanization).
The last type of suicide is fatalistic. This is a consequence of the fact that society over-controls the individual. This type is slightly common.
Suicide rate
Emil noted that suicides occur more often among Protestants than among Catholics. In addition, unmarried and unmarried people often take this step than those who are married. There are more suicides among the military than among the civilian population. There are also more of them in peacetime than during periods of revolution and war. Suicides occur more often during an economic downturn than during the years of economic stability. In addition, in rural areas there are fewer than in cities.
Unlike other works of the author, "Suicide" was based on the analysis of statistical material. Durkheim, therefore, founded applied sociology, and also contributed to the development of quantitative analysis in this science.
Religion analysis
Emil Durkheim believed that religion is a social phenomenon. He believed that she could only appear in society. Durkheim himself was not a believer. In 1912, as we have already noted, a study by Emil “Elementary forms of religious life” appeared. It was created largely under the influence of the ideas of W. Robertson-Smith. In this work, the scientist refused to recognize religion solely as self-deception or the product of a delusion of the mind. In his opinion, it is a field of activity in which by the gods is meant nothing more than social reality.
The value of Durkheim's achievements
Now you have a general idea of what Emil Durkheim became famous for. The main ideas were briefly stated by us. Note that although Durkheim was inferior in popularity to Spencer or Comte during his lifetime, modern sociologists evaluate his scientific merits even higher than the achievements of these scientists. The fact is that the predecessors of the French thinker were representatives of the philosophical approach to understanding the tasks and subject of sociology. And completed its formation as an independent humanitarian science, which has its own conceptual apparatus, namely Emil Durkheim. Thanks to his work, sociology has become of interest to many. He showed what great opportunities a deep analysis of various phenomena, conducted from the point of view of this science, opens up.