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The Rules of Sociological Method

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The Rules of Sociological Method
Cover of the 1919 French edition
AuthorÉmile Durkheim
Original titleLes règles de la méthode sociologique
LanguageFrench
GenreSociology
Publication date
1895
Publication placeFrance
Media typebook
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The Rules of Sociological Method (French: Les Règles de la Méthode Sociologique) is a book by Émile Durkheim, first published in 1895. It is recognized as being the direct result of Durkheim's own project of establishing sociology as a positivist social science.[1][2] Durkheim is seen as one of the fathers of sociology,[3] and this work, his manifesto of sociology.[4] Durkheim distinguishes sociology from other sciences and justifies his rationale.[1] Sociology is the science of social facts. Durkheim suggests two central theses, without which sociology would not be a science:

  1. It must have a specific object of study. Unlike philosophy or psychology, sociology's proper object of study are social facts.
  2. It must respect and apply a recognized objective scientific method, bringing it as close as possible to the other exact sciences. This method must at all cost avoid prejudice and subjective judgment.[5]

This book was one of the defining books for the new science of sociology.[6] Durkheim's argument that social sciences should be approached with the same rigorous scientific method as used in natural sciences was seen as revolutionary for the time.[6]

The Rules is seen as an important text in sociology and is a popular book on sociological theory courses. The book's meaning is still being debated by sociologists.[7][8]

Sociology as the study of social facts

Main article: Social fact

Durkheim's concern is to establish sociology as a science.[1] Arguing for a place for sociology among other sciences, he wrote:

Sociology is, then, not an auxiliary of any other science; it is itself a distinct and autonomous science.[9]

To give sociology a place in the academic world and to ensure that it is a legitimate science, it must have an object that is clear and distinct from philosophy or psychology. He argued:

There is in every society a certain group of phenomena which may be differentiated from those studied by the other natural sciences.[10]

With regards to social facts, Durkheim defined them as follows:

A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestations.[10]

One of the book's challenges is in showing how individual and seemingly chaotic decisions are in fact a result of a larger, more structured system, the pattern being held together by "social facts".[3]

The definition of social facts illustrates the holistic paradigm in which Durkheim's social facts are defined by two main features: they are external to and coercive to individuals.[2] They not only represent behavior but also the rules that govern behavior and give it meaning.[11] Social facts are external to individuals, they predate them and survive them (we can give here the examples of the law, language, morality, etc.).[12] Social facts can be constraining: if individuals do not do act as they dictate, they may face social penalties.[12] The binding nature of social facts is often implicit, because the rules of society are internalized by individuals in the process of education and socialization.[12]

Durkheim distinguished two types of social facts: normal social facts - which, within a society, occur regularly and most often - and pathological social facts - which are much less common.

Principles of sociology

According to Durkheim, sociologists, without preconceptions and prejudices, must study social facts as real, objective phenomena.[4]

Durkheim wrote:

The first and most fundamental rule is: Consider social facts as things.[13]

This implies that sociology must respect and apply a recognized objective, scientific method, bringing it as close as possible to the other exact sciences.[4] This method must at all cost avoid prejudice and subjective judgment.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Damian Popolo (16 January 2011). A New Science of International Relations: Modernity, Complexity and the Kosovo Conflict. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-1-4094-1226-7. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b Kate Reed (2006). New Directions in Social Theory: Race, Gender and the Canon. SAGE. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-0-7619-4270-2. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b Lisa F. Berkman; Ichirō Kawachi (2000). Social Epidemiology. Oxford University Press US. pp. 138–. ISBN 978-0-19-508331-6. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Émile Durkheim (1982). The Rules of Sociological Method. Simon and Schuster. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-0-02-907940-9. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  5. ^ Patricia Leavy (30 July 2008). Method Meets Art: Arts-based Research Practice. Guilford Press. pp. 5–. ISBN 978-1-59385-259-7. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  6. ^ a b Ferreol & Noreck. Introduction to Sociology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-81-203-3940-8. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  7. ^ W. S. F. Pickering (2001). Emile Durkheim: Critical Assessments of Leading Sociologists. Taylor & Francis. pp. 232–. ISBN 978-0-415-20562-7. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  8. ^ Michael R. Hill; Susan Hoecker-Drysdale (15 November 2002). Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives. Psychology Press. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-415-94528-8. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  9. ^ Mary C. Brinton; Victor Nee (2001). The New Institutionalism in Sociology. Stanford University Press. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-0-8047-4276-4. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  10. ^ a b Scott Appelrouth; Laura Desfor Edles (26 September 2007). Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory: Text and Readings. Pine Forge Press. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-0-7619-2793-8. Retrieved 17 March 2011. Cite error: The named reference "AppelrouthEdles2007" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ Finn Collin (1 January 2002). Social Reality. CRC Press. pp. 217–. ISBN 978-0-203-04792-7. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  12. ^ a b c Peter Wallace Preston (1996). Development Theory: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 87–. ISBN 978-0-631-19555-9. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  13. ^ Martin Hollis (1994). The Philosophy of Social Science: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-0-521-44780-5. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
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