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David mile Durkheim

(April 15, 1858 November 15, 1917)

Early Life

Durkheim was born in Epinal in Lorraine, coming from a long line of devout French Jews; his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had been rabbis.

From 1882 to 1887 he taught philosophy at several provincial schools in Paris.

3 Goals of Emile Durkheim 1. Establish Sociology as a


new academic discipline.

Arguing for a place for sociology among other sciences he wrote: Sociology is, then, not an auxiliary of any other science; it is itself a distinct and autonomous science E.D.

To give sociology a place in the academic world and to ensure that it is a legitimate science, it must have an object that is clear and distinct from philosophy or psychology, and its own methodology. He argued: There is in every society a certain group of phenomena which may be differentiated from ....those studied by the other natural sciences. E.D

2. To analyze how
societies could maintain integrity & coherence in the modern era.

3. Practical
implications of scientific knowledge.

For if society lacks the unity that derives from the fact that the relationships between its parts are exactly regulated, that unity resulting from the harmonious articulation of its various functions assured by effective discipline and if, in addition, society lacks the unity based upon the commitment of men's wills to a common objective, then it is no more than a pile of sand that the least jolt or the slightest puff will suffice to scatter. E.D.

WORKS

1. SOCIAL FACTS -

Durkheim's work revolved around the study of social facts, a term he coined to describe phenomena that have an existence in and of themselves, are not bound to the actions of individuals, but have a coercive influence upon them.

2. SUICIDE - Durkheim explores


the differing suicide rates among Protestants and Catholics, arguing that stronger social control among Catholics results in lower suicide rates.

DEATH
Durkheim died in Paris, France on the 15th November 1917. He is buried in the Cimetire de Montparnasse in Paris.

INFLUENCES & LEGACY


His description of collective consciousness deeply influenced Ziya Gokalp's, the founding father of Turkish sociology, Turkish nationalism Numerous lectures and published works on a variety of topics, including the sociology of knowledge, morality, social stratification, religion, law, education, and deviance.

The wise man, knowing how to enjoy achieved results without having constantly to replace them with others, finds in them an attachment to life in the hour of difficulty. But the man who has always pinned all his hopes on the future and lived with his eyes fixed upon it, has nothing in the past as a comfort against the present's afflictions, for the past was nothing to him but a series of hastily experienced stages. What blinded him to himself was his expectation always to find further on the happiness he had so far missed. Now he is stopped in his tracks; from now on nothing remains behind or ahead of him to fix his gaze upon. D.E.D

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