Comparing Weber's and Durkheim's Methodological Contributions to Sociology
This essay will be examining the methodological contributions both
Durkheim and Weber have provided to sociology. It will briefly observe
what Positivists are and how their methodologies influence and affect
their research. It will also consider what interpretative sociology
is, and why their type of methodology is used when carrying out
research. It will analyse both Durkheim's study of Suicide and also
Webers study of The Protestant work ethic, and hopefully establish how
each methodology was used for each particular piece of research, and
why.
Emile Durkhiem, in sociology terminology is considered to be a
Functionalist, in addition to also being a Positivist, however,
strictly speaking, Durkheim was not a Positivist. This is because he
did not follow the positivist rule that states that sociological study
should be confined to observable or directly measurable phenomena.
Functionalists believe that in order for society to function
correctly, there need to be shared values to help maintain social
order. Society is viewed as a stable, orderly system. This stable
system is in equilibrium and reflects societal consensus where the
majority of members share a common set of values, beliefs, and social
expectations. Functionalists also believe that society consists of
interrelated parts; each part serves a function and contributes to the
stability of the society.
Positivists believe that as a science, sociology can be objective and
value-free. Disinterested scientific observers shouldn't and don't
necessarily introduce bias into the research process. ...
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...our different types of suicide, and
that most suicides can fall into one of those categories. Although
sociologists like J.D. Douglas would question the reliability of the
statistics, due to the coroners decision being final, most
sociologists would agree that Durkheim's study into suicide was
successful, and indeed many have tried to develop and improve on his
theory. Overall, this essay has shown that one type of methodology may
not always be suitable for the particular research carried out. Both
Interpretative sociology and the Positivist approach equally show that
they are valid methods for carrying out research, but like everything,
nothing is one hundred percent accurate. Therefore, there is always
room for flaw, but in the study of Sociology, there is always room for
more ways of obtaining and interpreting data.
Three thinkers form the foundations of modern-day sociological thinking. Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Each developed different theoretical approaches to help us understand the way societies function, and how we are determined by society. This essay will focus on the contrasts and similarities of Durkheim and Weber’s thought of how we are determined by society. It will then go on to argue that Weber provides us with the best account of modern life.
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” (Winston Churchill??). Despite the differences between the two types of societies, they both concern the sharing of wealth and the circumstances under which it is acquired. They also deal with class conflict and ways in which it could be resolved. Theorist’s Durkheim and Marx approach this matter differently. Durkheim, employed a functionalist approach on class conflict believing that it was generated by anomie and modern society could only function if every part of the society worked cohesively. Contrarily, Marx uses a materialist approach to understand class conflict by arguing that humans were heavily
and the opportunities of income, and (3) the casual component is represented under the condition of the commodity or about market (‘class situations’)” (p.138).
the development of society. It seemed like Weber dislike for traditional and things like supernatural, religion as irrational because they didn’t have a systematic development and instead they depend on personal perceptions which included feelings and emotions that are part of irrationality. Conversely, Weber liked a rationality that was made up of social actions that were practiced with reason or reasoning, calculation and the pursuit of personal interest. In addition, Weber believed that rationality was also part of the rational legal authority and that these had certain characteristics such as calculations. With this, he meant that businesses and institutions would come up calculations of methods that would give results and help achieve the goals. Efficiency is another one with
On his own, Durkheim contributed a number of elements to the newly founded field. Firstly, in 1893, Durkheim published his first major work, The Division of Labor in Society. (Johnson 51) This book was groundbreaking, in that he introduced the concept of "anomie", which is the breakdown of the influence of social norms on individuals within a society. Next, in 1895, he published The Rules of Sociological Method, which was his second major work. This was a manifesto discussing what sociology is and how it ought to be taught and carried out. Then, he published his third major work, Suicide: A Study in Sociology. This was a case study that explored the differing suicide rates among Protestants and Catholics, and argued that stronger social control among Catholics results in lower suicide rates. In 1912, Durkheim published his last major work, The Elementary Forms of The Religious Life. This book analyzes religion, through the lens of a social phenomenon.
Sociaologist have alway attacked problems and anylized social issues that occur over long periods of time or short period of times. These ocurences usually show a trend or a pathway rather to how it has led up to a certain point of an issue occurring, or just a trend in the interaction of different groups, ethnicities, race, and culture. These anylizations differ from issue to issue, such as a micro level analysis of small social patterns to a macro level analysis of large social patterns. The foundation of sociology is based on three theoretical perspectives which are, the conflict theory, functionalism, and lastly symbolic interactionism. Being compared and contrasted in this essay will be the conflict theory and symbolic interactionism.
Desfor Edles, Laura and Scott Appelrouth. 2010. “Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).” Pp. 100 and 122-134 in Sociological Theory in the Classical Era. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are considered the founding fathers of sociology and both had profound influence on the development of sociology. However, some may say that they differ dearly in their views about society. Although there are differences in outlooks between the two, one thing noticeable is Marx and Durkheim shared the same concern over society and its development. They were both, in particular concerned with the rise of the modern system of division of labour and the evolution of market society taking place in the domain of modern capitalism. Both approached these developments by introducing a theory of their own to shed light on the effects that modern capitalism had on solidarity and on society’s ability to reproduce itself. More so, to understand and solve the problems arose as the societies in which they lived moved from a pre-industrial to an industrial state. For Marx, one of the serious problems arose in this was what he termed alienation. On the other, for Durkheim it was what he called anomie. The purpose of this essay is to examine the underlying differences of these two notions and in hope that it may help us to better understand the different visions of society developed by these two great social thinkers. Firstly, we start off with Marx’s idea of alienation. Secondly, what anomie means to Durkheim. Then a comparison will be done on the two concepts, evaluating the similarities and differences between the two. Lastly, we will finally come to conclude how the concept of alienation differs from the concept of anomie.
The fathers of sociology are Marx, Weber, and Durkheim and they are referred to as the sociological canon. Social context was of great importance to the fathers of sociology. The industrial era along with the work of past philosophers had greatest impact on the sociological cannons work.
Each of the four classical theorists Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel had different theories of the relationship between society and the individual. It is the objective of this paper to critically evaluate the sociological approaches of each theory to come to a better understanding of how each theorist perceived such a relationship and what it means for the nature of social reality.
This research will elaborate in detail the theories of Max Weber and explain his view of the perpetuation of social order, social inequality and social change. Lastly I will explain how Weber theories have impacted my view of society.
Durkheim was a functionalist, and theorised that a holistic social narrative could be identified which would explain individual behaviour. He argued that, whilst society was made up of its members, it was greater than the sum of its parts, and was an external pressure that determined the behaviour of the individuals within it. At that time, suicide rates in Europe were rising, and so the causes of suicide were on the agenda. Since suicide is seen as an intrinsically personal and individual action, establishing it as having societal causes would be a strong defence for Durkheim’s functionalist perspective. Durkheim used the comparative method to study the official suicide rates of various European countries. While he was not the first to notice the patterns and proportional changes of suicide rates between different groups in European societies, it was this fact that was the foundation of his theory – why did some groups consistently have much higher rates than others? This supports the idea that it was the external pressures placed on certain groups within society that induced higher rates of suicide, and is the basis of Durkheim’s work.
In society, we come across shared meanings and these shared meanings produce some type of social order. In order for social order to be constructed, we as individuals must be able to communicate with each other. Also, we need a system where all of us individuals as a whole are willing to cooperate. But where do these shared meanings come from within societies? Marx and Durkheim have come up with theories about how shared meanings are produced. Marx believes are ideas come after the production of materials. While Durkheim believes it is society itself as a moral authority where all individuals are willing to share the same idea.
Emile Durkheim, is the founder of sociology who conceived many theories, in the concept of suicide and its relationship with society. Durkheim’s book “Suicide” makes a distinction between suicide and suicide rate in relation with society. Durkheim conducted his research in a longitudinal study from various countries. He studied the suicide number and compared the mortality rate of different regions. His case study of suicide, explored the differences of suicide rates between social, economic and religious groups. He found people felt intertwine of social surrounding of social factors that produce suicide and, different social classes emerged from the discovery.
Also it is essential to have an over all view of the three theories and a critical comparison to reflect on how much these theories have contributed to classical theory of business.