Durkheim's core theoretical concepts

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With reference to at least one work by Durkheim, assess the contemporary relevance one of Durkheim’s core theoretical concepts. Your answer should analyse either social solidarity or religion.

In relation to the above question I will be looking at what Durkheim’s main concern was, which was how societies would be able to continue there consistency and unity to fit in with the contemporary society, where issues such as religion and diverse ethnic backgrounds would no longer exist in other words social solidarity. Durkheim was mainly interested on the study of social facts in society. He mentioned there were two types of social cohesion in societies, the first was described as the ‘The Mechanical Solidarity’ and the second ‘The Organic Solidarity’. He believed rapid changes within society would lead to disruption of social solidarity. He explains this theory in more detail in ‘The Division of Labour in Society’ (1933).

The Mechanical solidarity is based on the similarities amongst individuals in a society and who share similar traditions and routines. In other words when there is very little or no division of labour and you would usually get this form of solidarity in pre-industrialised societies. To support what I have said I have taken the following extract from ‘The Divisions of Labour in Society’.

‘The social molecules which can be coherent in this way can act together only in the measure that they have no actions of their own, as the molecules of inorganic bodies. That is why we propose to call this type mechanical solidarity’ (Durkheim, 1933).

In other words, Durkheim was mentioning that in this type of society everyone would accomplish the same tasks as others, or one very similar, and if an individual would to die and not to be restored, the society would not alter as everyone else would be doing exactly the same thing as the person that died because they do not depend on one another. The collective conscious of mechanical society is the same with each and every member and is based on the whole society.

‘In societies where this type of solidarity [mechanical] is highly developed, the individual is not his own master... Solidarity is, literally something which the society possesses.’ (Durkheim, 1933).

The Organic solidarity is based on the dependence individuals in modern societies which begin to industrialise and where the division of labour begins to increase.

Individuals in the organic solidarity do perform different tasks and often have different principles and interests and the very survival of society depends on their dependence on each other to execute their precise task.

‘The unity of the organism is as great as the individuation of the parts is more marked. Because of this analogy, we propose to call the solidarity which is due to the division of labour, organic.’ (Durkheim, 1933)

In other words, Durkhiem was mentioning that in an organic solidarity, everyone had different responsibilities, principles and interests according to their own needs and the collective conscious of an organic society is based on groups rather than the whole society as you would find in a mechanical society.

‘There is then, a social structure of determined nature to which mechanical solidarity corresponds. What characterizes it is a system of segments homogeneous and similar to each other. Quite different is the structure of societies where organic solidarity is preponderant. They are constituted, not by a repetition of similar, homogeneous segments, but by a system of different organs each of which has a special role, and which are themselves formed of differentiated parts.’ (Durkheim, 1933)

Durkheim studied how separate society’s maintained social order between themselves but he was more fascinated how this social order worked in the divisions of labour and how this was different in traditional society’s to the more modern society’s.  Durkhiem talked about the division of labour simply being separation and specialisation of work amongst people and predicted that as technology was escalating rapidly, people would become more and more specialised in order to survive which is obvious in today’s society.

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‘Social harmony comes essentially from the division of labour. It is characterized by a cooperation which is automatically produced through the pursuit by each individual of his own interests. It suffices that each individual consecrate himself to a special

function in order, by the force of events, to make himself solidary with others. ’ (Durkheim, 1933)

Durkheim was interested in the transition from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity which he thought was the result of modernisation and industrialisation. Durkhiem believed the transition would to some degree increase the relationship in which things depend ...

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