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Durkheim:

Built social theory based on Comte, but he was more important.


Study focus on historical transformation from primitive mechanical
societies to more modern organic societies. They differ in source of
solidarity (what holds them together). Key: Division of labor.
1. Mechanical solidarity: Virtually everyone does the same things
(fruit-gathering and animal-hunting). Society held together by the
fact that there is little division of labor.
2. Organic solidarity: Division of labor has occurred and people
perform increasingly specialized tasks. Solidarity here comes from
differences, as people need the contributions of other people to
function and survive. (Dentist, clothing, food, children raising).
What causes the change between mechanical and organic solidarity?
Durkheim says it is the increase in the dynamic density.
Dynamic density: The number of people and the frequency of interaction.
An increase in dynamic density leads to transformation from mechanical
to organic solidarity.
1. Components of dynamic density:
Number of people in society.
Increase in the amount of interaction that takes
place among the greater number of people in
society. When an increasingly large number of people
interact with greater frequency with one another, dynamic
density is likely to increase to the point that a
transformation from mechanical t
2. Why does dynamic density lead to division of labor? As everyone
competes for everything, resources become scarce, and
there is great disorder and conflict. As people are responsible
for specialized things, there is less competition, less conflict, more
harmony. There will be more of everything for a population
with an expanded division of labor.
Collective conscience: The ideas shared by the members of a collectivity
such as a group, tribe, or a society. Only the entire collection of
individuals possesses and knows all ideas. Transition from mechanical to
organic solidarity comes with a drastic change in collective conscience.
1. In mechanical solidarity: Collective conscience affects everyone
and is of great significance. Ideas are very powerful and people
are likely to act in accord with them. Rigid and tend to be
associated with religion.
2. In organic solidarity: Fewer people are affected by the collective
conscience. Some are able to evade it partially or completely.
People dont care about it so deeply. Collective conscience is far
weaker and does not exercise nearly as much control in them. It is
more flexible, adaptable, less connected with religion.

Repressive Law: Characteristic of mechanical society. Law in which


offenders are likely to be severely punished for any action that is seen as
an offense against the collective conscience by the community.
Restitutive Law: Characteristic of organic solidarity and its weakened
collective conscience. Law offenders are likely to be asked to simply
comply with the law or to repay those who have been harmed by their
actions. Blasphemy, for example, is likely to go unnoticed and
unpunished in modern societies.
Anomie: Lack of norms or inability of the social structure to provide
certain individuals the necessary things to accomplish the goals of
society. As in modern societies there is much freedom, individuals do not
know what is expected from them and go in mad pursuit of everything
and anything, which can lead to anomic suicide.
1. Anomic suicide: Mad pursuit of something when given freedom.
When pursuit is unsatisfying, people are more likely to commit
suicide.
2. Egoistic suicide: When individual is not well integrated into
community and are likely on their own, they feel a sense of futility,
meaninglessness, and more of them feel that they are morally
free to kill themselves.
3. Altruistic suicide: When people are too well integrated into
collectivity, they are likely to kill themselves because the group
leads them, or even forces them, to.
4. Fatalistic suicide: In situations of excessive regulation (slavery),
people are often so distressed and depressed by their lack of
freedom that they take their lives more frequently than otherwise.
Two types of positive solidarity (qualities)
1. The first unites the individual directly to society, without a middle
man. In the second one, the individual depends on the society for
the elements which compose it.
2. The first Society is more or less organized by feelings and beliefs
that collectivity has. In the second society, a system with plenty of
different tasks holds society together. Although both societies
exist in the same reality, it is necessary to distinguish them.
3. In the first one, collective conscience must be stronger than the
ideas of the individual. This solidarity must only grow in inverse
relation to personality (If personality, which defines us as
individuals, grows, the collective conscience is reduced). In the
case of the second, ideas that distinguish the individual make the
division of labor possible and at the same time strengthens
collective mobility because for society to grow, all its members are
needed.
Strength of social bonds:
1. Relation of volume of collective conscience and the individual. It is
stronger in the second society.

2. The intensity of the collective conscience.


3. As beliefs and common practices are more defined, there is less
space for the individual to emerge. If beliefs, laws, and practices
are less defined and unintelligible, there is more room for
individual thought.

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