Download Durkheim`s theory of religion

Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 08
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July 8 Lecture Notes
Critique of meaning theories
Common language and concepts may be necessary to produce cooperation, but are
insufficient
Social order via Values
Values: general & relatively durable internal criteria for evaluation (see p. 92)
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Freud’s Assumptions
People try to maximize their happiness
Sexuality =fundamental human motivation
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Aggression = man’s instinctive nature (Read pg. 101 through “dispute this assertion?”)
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Freud: Mechanism
Infants want parent; parent not always available
This realization  distinction between self (ego) and the external world
How does infant cope with parent’s absence or disapproval?
Takes parent into self (super-ego), allowing internal parent to monitor his/her behavior
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S.O. requires containing human nature
Society employs a variety of overt (external) methods to regulate sexuality and aggressiveness
But these methods are largely unsuccessful
Instead, civilization depends renunciation of hedonistic instinct
Freud’s solution is internal
• the super-ego
• In the form of the “conscience,” the super-ego puts into action against the ego “the same harsh
aggressiveness that the ego would have liked to satisfy upon other, extraneous individuals.”
– civilization obtains mastery over the individual’s aggressiveness “by setting up an agency
within him to watch over it, like a garrison in a conquered city.”
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Freud: S.O. exacts a price
“The price we pay for our advance in civilization is a loss of happiness through the
heightening of the sense of guilt.”
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Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 08
July 8 Lecture Notes
Emile Durkheim
• methodological contributions: statistical analysis, choosing “hard cases” for theory; focus on
emergent phenomena (the group/society is unit of analysis)
• Emergence: when outcome explicable only w/ group-level variables
Suicide rates: indicator of social disorder
• Two emergent causes of suicide
– Social integration & Social regulation
Egoistic suicide
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Individualism  suicide
– Single people more individualistic than people with spouses & kids (& Protestant v. Catholic)
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Social integration  low suicide, conformity to norms, social order
Behavioral mechanism for egoistic suicide
• “Our activity needs an object transcending it.”
• “They cling to life more resolutely when belonging to a group they love, so as not to betray
interests they put before their own. The bond that unites them with the common cause attaches
them to life and the lofty goal they envisage prevents their feeling personal troubles so
deeply.”
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Altruistic suicide
From too little individualism & too much social integration, which encourages people to
sacrifice selves for group
Individual life loses value
Anomic suicide
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Explanation
– Crises inhibit social regulation
– Anomie = erosion of values  suicide
Behavioral mechanism
– We can’t be happy unless needs in proportion to means. Man’s needs inherently limitless:
only moral force of society provides limit.
– In Durkheim’s words: “Inextinguishable thirst is constantly renewed torture”
Society determines rewards offered to each type of human activity
• Social consensus on relative value of different jobs defines & contains our aspirations:
“A certain way of living is considered the upper limit to which a workman may aspire in his
efforts to improve his existence, and there is another limit below which he is not willingly
permitted to fall unless he has seriously demeaned himself.”
• Lack of regulation  misery  suicide
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Soc 316/Erin Powers/Summer 08
July 8 Lecture Notes
Looking Ahead…
• For Thursday, you might want to boat each of the readings on norms (11-14)
• I return comments on summary of cases Tues July 15. After dealing w/ my comments, you
can think about what theories best explain variation in S.O. across your cases (see next slide).
• Your first exam is on Thurs, July 17 (covering everything through power & authority
readings). MC questions and a short essay or two.
Preview of 4 Remaining Theory Groups (to help w/paper ideas)
• Values & Norms: “Are cultural phenomena that aid cooperation by prescribing and
proscribing particular kind of behavior.” Today we covered values (internal), Thurs we cover
norms (external).
• Power & Authority: Power theories explain that coercion is sometimes needed to produce
social order (Hobbes & Engels on the state use of force to create order). Authority entails
obtaining voluntary compliance: people obey b/c they view leadership as legitimate.
• Spontaneous Order: Bottom-up solutions to social order, including how allowing people to
follow own self interest yields the greatest good for society.
• Groups & Networks: Society is composed of groups, people have social ties. These ties and
group membership can increase or decrease social order. Issues like interdependence, the
effects of strong versus weak ties, how membership in groups socializes us, etc.
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