How Emile Durkheim 's Theory Of Morality And Comparing And Contrasting It With Zygmunt Bauman 's Postmodern Ethics Essay

Emile Durkheim believed that society was and is fundamentally a moral system. At the center of his social theory Durkheim placed law. He believed law played two important roles “it is the best and most objective single indicator of collective morality… law operates in society to constrain individual behavior and produce social order” (Sutton 32). To put it in simpler terms he believed that law could

Social facts have existence as a separate entity and it does not get affected by the individual behavior. In other words, social facts are the outcome of the state of the collective mind. The stress on the above feature makes sociology different from the rules of sociological method. Further, in favor of his argument Durkheim says that as an individual of the society the person inculcates automatically the behavioral deeds and actions with or without prior knowledge. No one is coercive on the imposition of laws and rules. If anyone goes against he is fined or a penalty is imposed for not obeying the laws of the society. To put forth his ideas in an effective manner he argues that society as a whole is an amalgamation of political platforms, partial groups such as literary schools, religious organizations etc which are bonded through certain sentiments. In his opinion, if the individual does not act in favor of a group and its principles that work for good cause and the betterment of the individuals and the society, he is made to face everything alone leading to atrocities and horrifying incidents.

Pope and Johnson (1983) state that Durkheim proposed that society revitalizes individuals and gives them strength to persevere in the face of the vicissitudes of everyday life. Stones (2008), further states that Durkheim felt that we acquired all the best in ourselves and all the things that distinguish us from other animals from our social existence. Thought, language, world-views, rationality, morality and aspirations are derived from society. Thus, the unsocialised individual, the individual divorced form society, the beast within us, is a poor approximation of the highly socialised beings that constitute societies.

Emile Durkheim, was a French sociologist. His theories and writings helped establish the foundations of modern sociology. Durkheim disagreed with most social theorists of the late 1800 's because they thought that individual psychology was the basis of sociology. Durkheim regarded sociology as the study of the society that surrounds and influences the individual. Durkheim explained his theories in his book The Rules of Sociological Method (1895). He says there is relationship between moral values and religious beliefs, which establishes unity in society.Emile Durkheim has long been viewed as one of the founders of the so called variables oriented approach to sociological investigation. Durkheim developed the theory that societies are bound together by two sources of unity. He called these sources mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity refers to similarities that many people in the society share, such as values and religious beliefs. Organic solidarity results from the division of labor into specialized jobs. Durkheim believed that the division of labor makes people depend on one another and thus helps create unity in a society. Durkheim studied thousands of cases of suicide to demonstrate his theory that a person commits suicide because of the

In DHN, Durkheim argues that sociology must examine what an individual consists of because it is a result of the whole society. It is this society

Morality in its basic definition, is the knowledge between what is right and what is wrong. In Joan Didion’s essay, “On Morality,” she uses examples to show how morality is used to justify actions and decisions by people. She explains that morality can have a profound effect on the decisions that people chose to make. I think that morality is an idea that is different for every individual based on morals and background.

Morality is a particular system of values and principles of conduct. My interpretation of this is the distinction of right and wrong. Everyone has a personal morals, whether it’s through a group, organization, or just the way their parents brought them up. Morals help create an organized society, they are like unwritten laws. There are so many morals out there the government could not make them all laws, so although morals help govern the world they are not actual laws. Without morals the world would be nothing but chaos. Being honest, fair and just, making the world a better place, respecting others, and being open minded are just a few examples.

Furthermore, Durkheim's basic assumption about human nature-that people are driven by their passion for gratification that can never be satisfied-is not empirically substantiated in any of his work. Finally, Durkheim's understanding of the relationship between morality and sociology has been critiqued as being conservative.” (George Ritzer and Douglas J. Goodman)

Emile Durkheim is seen as one of the fathers of sociology because of his work, his manifesto of sociology. Durkheim made a very strong and controversial claim in his book, “The Rules of Sociological Method”. He mentions that no act is inherently deviant in and of itself. Deviance is defined by society and will vary from one group to another. Obviously, then, the group in a given society that has a lot of power will have the major role in defining what acts are deviant. But for this to work most people must acknowledge that power. That is, they must recognize and feel that that power is legitimate, that the state or those in control have authority over them. This is an important distinction between force and coercion (i.e. raw power without recognition or consent of the people) and legitimate authority where people recognize and acknowledge the power over them. With this in mind, let’s look at the social construction of

Along with Marx and Weber, Durkheim is considered one of the founding members of modern sociology. He is also credited with making sociology a science through his application of scientific and empirical research. Durkheim believed that sociology should be seen as a science separate from other sciences such as psychology, by studying “social facts” objectively as things. (Kiviston, 2011)

In regards to (a) social facts, Durkheim refers to ideas, values and concepts that a society has developed over time and where each individual within this society shares. These ideas, values and concepts develop into behavioural patterns among the society and ultimately reach a point where

“What is moral philosophy and what would a satisfactory moral theory be like”? In, “The Elements of Moral Philosophy,” James Rachels states, “Moral Philosophy is the study of what morality is and what it requires of us” (p.1). Still today, the subject of ethics, morality, and the beliefs of what is right and wrong still perplex us, just as it baffled great thinkers since ancient times. Such as Aristotle and Socrates, whom were just some of the greatest philosophers in history. Regarding morality, Socrates said, “it’s about ‘how we ought to live’ and why” (p. 1). There is no such definition of what morality is, in response, noteworthy philosophers and scholars have come up with different moral theories. Some of which are: The Divine Command

Throughout his life, Durkheim has three main goals: establish sociology as a new academic discipline, analyze how societies maintain their integrity in the modern era, and lastly the practical implications of scientific knowledge. Durkheim’s contributions to social theory are expansive however the most impactful works were: The Division of Labor in Society and The Rules of Sociological Method. In his first work he introduced the concept of the breakdown of the influence of the societal norms on the individual, in his second work he stated what sociology is and how it should be acted out. Both of these works took social theory to a new level and they further help the individual understand his society.

Durkheim believed that the individual has no way of limiting passions, so the moral authority of society must do this. Individual aspirations are limited two ways, by socialisation and social integration. Socialisation helps us learn the rules of society and the need to cooperate. Social integration allows us to integrate into society and reinforce our respect for its rules. These both, as stated by Durkheim create a strong collective conscience.

The second type of society is modern society. We evolved from the primitive society structure and functionality. A highly differentiated social structure is said how modernity is to be characterized. (Seidman, 1998) There are specialized social institutions that differentiate individuals in the social structure (e.g., the economy, family, education, welfare, military, polity) and regulate the behaviour of the individual. Individualism is the public religion in this culture. The beliefs and morals held in common among individuals are to be highly general and abstract unlike how it is the primitive society. There are two social forces that are powerful in promoting individualism. The first is how advance the division of labor that the individual is required to have more freedom to control their institutional behaviour. The second is the given in a differentiated society the state or the church has any right to impose their social rules to dictate institutions, it is only up to the individual in their social roles in those institutions. This is a clear indication of how society has developed and how Durkheim has explained this transformation in relation to the growth of modernity.