Essays on Durkheim

Introduction

The desire to conform to the norms is what makes the foundation of a civilized society. Social order, for instance, is a desired attribute that is founded on established written and unwritten rules that are being observed by most people within a society. Deviation from these established rules is considered as undesirable and people who deviate are considered as having abnormal qualities or malfunctioning (Merton, 2002, p. 672). There are instances, however, wherein some people are observed to deviate from the standard pattern of human behavior. This deviation has captured the interest of many social scientists and have been ...

The society that we are living in at the moment is characterized by different forms of behavior. This is nothing new as different people have seen it since time immemorial. Sociologists have also tried to do an observation and a study on the behavior in the society and they have come up with different conclusions. In the theory of Durkheim Emile; who was a French social scientist, the social cohesion of undifferentiated, small societies can be referred to as mechanical and of the societies differentiated by a division that is relatively complex in the division of labor can be ...

Sociology can be termed as the study of the functioning, structure, and development, of the human society. In Europe the field of sociology emerged as a separate field during the 19th century. This period is regarded as a time of turmoil due to not only the industrial revolution but also violent uprisings against the existing leaders both of which threatened Europe's social order. Other changes in Europe were such as development of social classes, discovering of new worlds as a result of exploration, the rural state were also being replaced by the emergence of factory cities. Due to these ...

Theories of Religion

The Functionalism theory was coined by Durkheim whereby the theory views religion from a societal platform based on the way it influences the thinking and behaviour of people. The theory argues that sacred objects tend to have divine properties and people tend to separate them from profane objects (Pals & Pals 2006). Religion is viewed as an aspect that fosters good health and society continuation in general. It is a platform that helps societies to affirm their common beliefs and cultural values on a regular basis while also ensuring that societal order and cohesion is enhanced. The essay looks into ...

The short video identified is Children See Children Do. The video captures children mimicking actions of the parents with regard to their action and language. In the video, a parent is captured shouting and the child follows suit and begins shouting too (KidScan). Most of the copied activities by children from adults are negative ranging from littering, aggression and smoking. On the contrary, the video also shows a man helping a troubled lady and the child also turns out to offer help as for how his father had done (KidScan). The video is aimed to make people aware that ...

Do you agree with personal vs. business ethics distinction?

Yes, I do agree with the distinction between the two terms. Personal ethics can get defined as the morals and values held by an individual. These are ethics in the sense that they define what individual views as right or wrong. Values vary from individual to individual and from culture to culture. The reason for these differences is that different cultures have diverse worldviews and live in different environments that require varied forms of thinking and doing things. Individuals belong to one culture or another and for this reason; personal ethics is greatly influenced by someone’s culture. From ...

Social Norms

It is believed by professionals and sociologist that everyone in society has as social role to play in the community. In society people are Social norms are a social constructed created and shared by individuals in a community. These norms are defined by actions and behaviors performed by people in society which they are expected by other people in society to act this way. For example, in today’s society, In Western culture, it is a social norm to give an individual personal space if they are a stranger, and if you are forced to encroach upon their personal ...

Abstract

This writing will through light on Deviance. It will start with defining deviance as a sociological concept. Later on, briefly, David Email Durkheim’s Structural Functional Theory will be discussed. At the end, a contemporary example will be taken and the applicability of theory on the example/issue discussed will be discussed to effectively relevance of the issue with the theory. At the end of this reading, the reader would be able to effectively understand the concept of deviance and its contemporary example and how that can described using David Email Durkheim’s Structural Functional Theory.

Deviance

Any Act that violates ...

Research Paper

Introduction The social world is as complex as the physical world. Due to such complexity, sociologists have made considerable efforts to explain various social phenomena through different sociological theories. One of the major sociological theories is functionalism, which has its origins in the works of Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim. The functionalist theory explains how societies survive and maintain social stability. It also explores dysfunctional events like suicide. This paper argues that functionalism can provide a reasonable and accurate explanation of the phenomenon of suicide since social factors, like excessive social cohesion or the lack of it and extreme ...

Research often involves developing research questions to answer a known or unknown phenomenon. The purpose of these research questions is to guide the research to through the right course through addressing a research problem that the researchers think is worth providing a solution. In answering a research question various research, methodologies are used to enable a researcher to obtain just the right information to address the potential problem (Creswell pp131-133). This paper will, therefore, address the use of observation as a research method in answering a research question. While conducting research on people’s beliefs and culture, I decided ...

Psychology of Religion

Psychology of Religion Almost all religions in existence believe in exclusive answers with regards to absolute truth. However, from a psychological perspective, in essence, all religions are equal thus resulting to various research on whether religion is universally present amongst all people. Though religion searches for the sacred, it also associates with certain non-sacred goals such as belongingness and identity, therefore, making religion constitute socially constructed beliefs as well as rituals. Religion is an objective fact of the existence of humans. Various scholars have had different meanings of religion with each having an explanation to why they believed religion ...

[Padau Wave Power Enterprises]

Business Plan

Using Wave Power to Generate Electricity in Saudi Arabia Introduction About the business Turning calamities into business opportunities is Padau Wave Power Enterprises’ next big project. Padau Wave Power Enterprises operates in a region that is chronically known to for strong waves that mostly wreak havoc anything on their way. Tapping the waves to produce energy is certainly a brilliant idea that Padau Wave Power Enterprises seek to venture into for a number of reasons. Firstly, the energy yielded will add to Saudi Arabia national grid in a sustained manner considering that wave power is ...

The French sociologist Émile Durkheim can be considered, with recognized authority, the main constructor of the modern social science, as we know it, as well as a sculptor of ideas, who chiseled the masterpiece of modern Sociology, creating a totally differentiated and unique field of science, not to be confused with other thought currents, like Philosophy or Anthropology, which were subjects Durkheim was rather versed on as well. However, can we proclaim that he influenced contemporary culture to the point of establishing the path it would follow to meet modernity with a new perspective? I certainly believe Sociology owes ...

There’s No Such Thing as Society

Everything around us from our devices and gadgets we cannot live without to factories and corporations is our society. Peoples’ behavior, interactions, and choices form, or construct, the society. At the same time, the society through the social structure with norms and regulations has its own significant effect on people. It means that society forms the way people think, determine their role in society, the way people imagine themselves and the way they are perceived and understood by others. Actually, people don't usually ask how works society and do not question their behavior and choices they made every day, ...

Part 1

Karl Marx Karl Marx attempted to look at religion from an objective and more scientific perspective, and he termed it as a form of economic injustice. According to him, it is used by those who intend to oppress others by making things and situations to look better when they are not. It is a way of exploiting the poor, and he coined the statement “opium of the masses” because it is what the people are fed so as not to see the harsh realities of their poor situations (Kendall, 2015). People just get content with their situations; make them ...

During his lifetime, Emile Durkheim was hailed as a famous French sociologist, psychologist and philosopher who, together with Karl Marx and Max Weber established the academic field we now know as social science. Durkheim published a number of seminal sociological works one of which was The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, which explained the origins of religion. Durkheim (1912) believes that religion "is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things”. Durkheim referred to sacred things as “apart and forbidden.” Beliefs and practices may also be considered as “sacred” and they help unite a community ...

Structural functionalism is one of the sociological theories that sociologists use to attempt to explain how social institutions exists so as to meet the needs of the individuals and the society. This theory views the society as having structures that exists to function as collective units to meet the needs of the society. It has its origin from Emile Durkheim who was concerned why the societies tend to be relatively stable over time. He suggested that societies remain cohesive over a long time because individuals work together guided by shared values, common symbols and system of exchange. This is ...

Personality of the offender - a set of socio-psychological characteristics and qualities, which are the causes and conditions for committing crimes. Criminal’s personality is different from the personality of law-abiding person by public danger, it is characterized by criminal needs and motivation, emotional and volitional deformation and negative social interests. The problem of offender’s personality is one of the central problems for sciences, which are connected with criminology. Criminology examines the socio-demographic and moral-psychological characteristics of offender. In addition, crucial for this topic and for criminology as a whole is a question of what the nature of ...

Gender inequality is a predicament of all women, especially the Muslim women, but musawah, an Islamic movement, is on the right path of rescuing Muslim women from this bondage via encouraging them to make their own interpretation of the Quran- will the movement succeed in bringing gender equality? The musawah movement was coined with the intention of enlightening Muslim women in order to achieve gender equality. The movement has adopted several, relevant, mechanisms that will aid in the achievement of its goal; for example, providing education programs that are intended to enlighten the Muslim women as well as encouraging ...

Sociologist Emile Durkheim defines religion based on its function and purpose in society; specifically, religion fulfills a fundamental part in preserving and reinforcing social structures and hence was crucial to the continued existence of society. According to Durkheim, society remains cohesive because of shared traditions, values, and ideals of which, customarily, religion had been the facilitator. Through the values, rituals, and sacraments of religion, it creates a feeling of belongingness to a bigger social group or institution with claims upon the person. It effectively brings and holds people in a group together, thus building social cohesion, meaning, and social ...

Religion has an enormous influence on any given society. Religion has been widely praised for promoting prosocial behaviors among individuals in society(Moore, 2015). Psychologists as well have acknowledged the benefits religion has to our lives such as reducing the rates of depression. In Sociology as well, religion has been long recognized for its effect of promoting prosocial attitudes and behaviors. It does this by regulating behavior and coming up with norms and values that integrate people into the society. Emile Durkheim proposed that religion has a prosocial influence of decreasing suicide via establishing values and norms by which ...

The practice of division of labor was introduced long ago and has now been adopted by many industries in the world. The act has an increasing influence in the most diverse sectors of the society in the current world. The law of division of labor has been observed to apply to organisms and communities as well. It has then been seen as a law of nature but then questions are still asked on if it is also a moral rule for the conducts of human beings and to what extent it stretches as well. While the division of labor ...

Abstract

This paper will explore the life of Emile Durkheim. It will start by giving a brief overview of his life leading up to his work as a sociologist. It will then highlight his main theories and go into detail about his work and how it contributes to the study of sociology and the development of sociological theory. It will then provide an application of his theory and conclude with a summary of findings. The purpose for this report is to discover how Emile Durkheim’s work helps us in the field of sociology and why it is still relevant ...

Faith is a serious matter. So serious that it has been studied, researched and investigated along the History of mankind by religious and science experts. Sociology is a branch of science that studies not only the origin, development and structure of human societies, in general, but also the behavior of individuals and groups. It is, therefore, quite natural that Sociology pays close attention to religion as a rich field of investigation, as it is connected to what is the most precious in human terms: your mind, or if your prefer, your soul. Religion commands people’s feelings, beliefs, conduct ...

Deviant behavior does not adhere to the cultural norms and social accepted norms (Akers, 2011). Deviance comprises of behavior that violates expectations and standards of conduct of a group or society. Crime is one of the forms of deviance. In this paper, crime has been described as major type of deviance. Crime is considered as an act of deviance because in crime norm as well as law is broken. Crime as deviant behavior can be minor or it can be major such as it can be picking an individual’s nose or it can be commitment of murder. There ...

Of Marx/ Engels, Durkheim, and Weber

Of Marx/ Engels, Durkheim, and Weber I. Marx There are many ways by which Marx’ methodology can be viewed, and reading through his works leads to the realization of his socialism concept. In Marx’ Capitalist, he expressed how production is initiated, not because man is under the control of political power, but because he is a social being that needs to participate in the production of goods that will benefit the whole society. This was expressed in his work when he wrote, “socialized man, the associated producers, regulate their interchange with nature rationally,” (Marx, 1869, pp. 944), thus allowing ...

Introduction

This essay will investigate the definition of deviance in society from a sociological perspective. It will then define what it means to be socially deviant. This essay will go onto investigate what impacts deviance has on society. This essay will conclude that for some sociologists, deviance performs a necessary function in society that help establish and reaffirm our social norms, and can help us fix the problems within it The term deviance in sociology refers to an act that violates the standard social norms in a society (White et al, 2000). Succinctly it is a transgression of any kind ...

1.Michel Foucault distinguishes between Sovereign Power and Disciplinary Power. (a)What are the essential elements of each type of power? (b) How would Foucault interpret Weber’s distinction between Catholicism and Calvinism? (c) How would Foucault assess Durkheim’s distinction between Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity? Michel Foucault’s philosophy is directly related to the concepts of power and security within a society. As such, Foucault frequently discusses the ways in which individuals should be punished for crimes against their society, and the parties that should be responsible for said punishment. The two chief types of power Foucault defines ...

Deviant behavior is a behavior that is different from others. It occurs because of non conformity with the norms. Deviance is behavior that goes against dominant norms of the society. It is, however, socially constructed, it is not just only a matter of individual personal choice, and is an inherent part of the society. Crime, however, represents form of deviance in which societies impose some penalties. Deviance is, however, dependent on the culture, and is constructed socially. This can be analyzed from the fact that Emile Durkheim (1966, p 263) mentioned that crime, which is a form of deviance ...

Some researchers argue that the innovation in science has a direct relationship with the advancement in morality. This argument, therefore, shows the link that exists between science and moral aspects. These researchers address various reasons as to why they support the fact that moral values and scientific advancements have a relationship. Conversely, some scientists criticize the fact that morality has an influence on scientific research. Accordingly, these researchers also criticize the way in which scientific facts relate to moral values. This paper discusses the morals value associated with science showing both the agreements and disagreements presented by two different ...

Introduction

One of the major occupations of students studying crimes is to understand how criminal behaviors come about and why individuals are induced in engaging in deviant or criminal behaviors. Theories on crime and delinquency primarily explores this question to get a better understanding of individuals and society at large. Theorists drew from different fields of sciences such as sociology, psychology and biology, to find answers in uncovering individual motivations and structural inducement. One such theory that draws not only from sociology, but also from psychology, is the strain theory of Agnew. This paper provides a detailed discussion on the ...

Science is a word that is commonly used to mean a group of cultural values that govern scientific activities, or some accumulated knowledge that come from the application of scientific methods. Values, on the other hand, are personal preferences or judgments regarding what people consider being either right or wrong or what is liked or disliked. Many scientists have the conceived notion that science deals with facts and not values and that it is objective while values are not. But the sociologists of science have challenged the scientists’ belief in science being value-free hence raising questions regarding science and ...

The Sociology of W.E.B Du Bois Concepts like public sociology, the sociological imagination, policy sociology and methodological triangulation are terms frequently used in modern sociology. Sociology student are encouraged by their academic advisors to supplement their class work with practical field experience. For instance, research to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs can be extremely useful. The question of whether sociological research can have a positive effect on society is particularly relevant in the modern day. Researchers have to ask themselves whether the work they are doing have implications for public policy. Furthermore, students are expected to bring different ...

Society and sociology have a number of differing definitions, particularly as they relate to sociology as the study of society. Social theorists like Emile Durkheim and Georg Simmel saw society in different ways, with Simmel seeing society as a far more basic assemblage of human interactions, while Durkheim revolves his sense of society around the establishment of an objective world of society that is present regardless of the level of interaction of its subjects. However, both of these theorists explore the relationship between society and sociology, Simmel in particular views sociology as a means of examining the interaction between ...

Introduction

Most scientists conceive that science’s most fundamental feature deals with facts and not values, making it more objective as opposed to values thus offering comfort in them having the privilege domain of certainty and permanent knowledge. Sociology being the scientific study of society closely analyzes the culture of man and his interactions on a deeper level. With the positivism philosophy, it asserts that knowledge about man and his culture can only be authenticated using empirical observation. In essence the use of scientific methods to obtain the required information. A contrary concept does not believe in science as the ...

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Abstract

This research established in the article sought to explain the issue of marriage regarding Chinese rural young women and to give the grounds if the issue served as a risk or protective factor for their suicide. The analysis included a brief summary of the main ideas of the article, the purpose of the research, key findings and consequences of the results. Moreover, the major theoretical perspective to clarify the findings was based on Emile Durkheim’s social integration theory of suicide which highlights sources of people’s social support. The observations allowed ...

Functionalists theorise that for society to be successful, everyone has a role which needs to be fulfilled. Emile Durkheim felt that the ideal society would consist of people being assigned their role based on excellence and that the inheritance of money would detract from that. This sort of society is called a meritocracy. While Durkheim does not defend the capitalist society, his functionalist theories do revolve around every group as having a role in society and therefore, by default, the wealthy capitalist upper-class does too

Functionalist theory states that the economic institution of work is amongst the most important of all social ...

In an attempt to explain various issues in the society, different scholars have come up with different theories. Depending on the view points of these theorists, some of the theories have some things in common while others differ to some extent. In this essay, I will be analyzing how Durkheim’s theory differs from Weber’s theory as far as the society is concerned. The two theorists took different approaches in defining the society. Durkheim took a positivism approach while Weber took an ant positivist approach, (Weber & Runciman, 100-05). Notably, Durkheim extended the positivist approach by taking the realism ...

To understand the concept of religion, its effects, and the role it plays in the modern society, we first of all need to get the pure non-diluted meaning of religion; not the current corrupted versions which link religion to some crazy individuals or groups of people.

Religious consciousness is experienced when “God moves towards man and of man towards God” (Odhiambo 2008). Consequently, for man to find the fulfillment of all highest aspiration he must entrust the Lord who made a personal covenant with him as man is aware he has received his existence and its physical benefits as a gift, ...