Emile Durkheim
"The first and fundamental rule [of sociology] is to consider social facts as things...a social fact is every way of acting which is capable of exercising an external constraint upon the individual"
(The Rules of Sociological Method, 1895)
Of all the summaries, interpretations, introductions and idiot's guides written for those studying Durkheim, the above quote is the one to bear in mind. Sociology has to begin by treating social facts as things. A social fact is anything which constrains individual behaviour. And that includes almost everything. Language, money, gender, class, ethnicity, what we read, where we live, whether we are considered fat or thin, stupid or clever. These things will not have much to do with us as indivduals, they may be things over which we have little or no control, yet precisely because of that they control almost every aspect of our behaviour. What you do, where you do it, where you live, who you fall in love with, how often you have sex, how much you drink, what movies you watch, all are constrained by social facts. This sounds like a pessimistic prescription, and it certainly can be taken that way. However, Durkheim is the last of the terminal optimists of the sociological world. He was convinced that the development of a complex division of labour would lead to human beings becoming increasingly conscious of their reliance upon each other, and the fact the individual well being of each depends upon the well being of all. From this awareness of our need for each other would develop a deep and abiding compassion for all humanity. It is up to your judgement whether the history of this century bears him out (AB).
The following resources are from theDead Sociologist's Society by kind permission of Larry Ridener
The Person
The Work
Work by Durkheim
Division of Labour
The Division of Labour and the Elementary forms of Religious Life
The relationship between social structure and individual well being
What is a Social Fact?
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DURKHEIM
Introduction