Emile Durkheim And Max Weber Sociology Essay Example

methods sing societal behavior. Finally, it will come to the decision of this essay. Both of their theories and methods played really of import function in the development of people 's apprehension of societal scientific discipline subject.

Emile Durkheim 's theory and method

Emile Durkheim ( 1858-1917 ) is an highly of import sociologist from France. In his calling, Durkheim has several methods that including societal facts, society, corporate consciousness and civilization, self-destruction and faith. This essay will concentrate on societal facts and suicide methods.

Social facts

For societal facts, he thinks that societal constructions ( establishments, traditions and beliefs, forms of behaviour, such as: linguistic communication, jurisprudence and civilization. ) exist independently of the person. That mains societal facts already exist before we are born. `` A societal fact is every manner of moving, fixed or non, capable of exerting on the person an external restraint ; or once more, every manner of moving which is general throughout a given society, while at the same clip bing in its ain right independent of its single manifestations. '' ( Durkheim 1985 )

That is to state, societal constructions have a 'coercive power ' over the person, which means that we coerced into following the established regulations of our society. Social facts have four chief characteristics. First, external to the person. secondly, coercive of the person. Third, general throughout. Last, non attached to any peculiar person.

The writers argue that the basic norms of societal facts as things to analyze. Matter of understanding is a confrontation with the construct, is the object of the mind can non be of course understood by all who know and understand can non hold their ain

positions on the affair, can non be influenced by their positions, observation of the usage of aim and impartial attitude ( Durkheim 1985 & Prager, 1981 & Turner, 1990). First, the writer criticizes the bing sociological research, he believes sociology specializes in about all of the construct. Such as Comte constructs as portion of the survey, Spencer prejudge survey are non scientific and sensible. Then the writers believe that moralss, political relations, economic system, psychological science and other subjects, non to clear up societal fact, their research methods and can non truly understand the Torahs of nature ( Durkheim 1985 & Prager, 1981 &  Turner, 1990 ).

Therefore, merely the sociology of societal phenomena as things to analyze, to acquire rid of the subjective, nonsubjective and impartial survey of the external characteristics, in order to obtain the truth of sociological research. Sociologist seeking to analyze a type of societal facts, they must seek to interrupt away from the societal facts exist independently side to inspect the public presentation of the person.

Suicide method

On Durkheim 's self-destruction method, Durkheim argued that self-destruction rates are non caused by non-social factors, such as race, genetic sciences and clime. It caused be societal factors, such as spiritual religion, employment and matrimonial position. Choice of the object of survey ( Durkheim, 1897 ). Suicide is a pathological phenomenon exists in the society run Durkheim wanted to turn out their sociological proposition that societal life would regulate the extent to which the destiny of the person through the survey of the phenomenon of self-destruction. Because self-destruction seems wholly personal behaviour, it is Durkheim analysis of self-destruction with a batch of hazards and challenges,

but if they can turn out that this phenomenon is besides dominated by society, so Durkheim can most fortunes non contributing to his averment, confirmed ain methodological rules high quality.

The survey defined. Durkheim attaches great importance to the operational definition of the object of the survey and application of it as the first measure of the empirical research plan literature aggregation and quantitative analysis method. Empirical research nonsubjective stuff from existent life. Compared with other sociological work `` suicide theory '' a important characteristic in ownership of a big figure of paperss and statistics based on analysis of research. In short, the `` suicide theory '' , we one time once more see a cardinal thesis of Durkheim positivist research methods: the societal fact is the being of an aim, it is non the subjective value factors ; corporate or societal and personal different qualitative, corporate or societal degree much higher than the single, instead than the simple amount of the person ; All personal, corporate societal facts can be generated, which societal facts can merely be explained by the corporate to. ( Morrison, 1990 & A ; Pope & A ; Cohen & A ; Hazelrigg, 1975 & A ; Prager, 1981 )

Max Weber 's theory and method

Sociology is an interpretive apprehension of societal action related to the description of the relevant scientific and causality of the procedure and consequences of the societal action. ( Prager, 1981 ) On the sociology of Weber 's apprehension, apprehension is one of the most basic concepts. Understand the construct originated from the field of hermeneutics, the apprehension and reading of the coming of the Hagiographas of a

particular method, which aims at the apprehension of thoughts and the basic construction of the text. Weber agreed to Dilthey 's position that the humanistic disciplines and natural scientific disciplines; on the other manus, the difference lies in Weber 's apprehension of `` understanding '':

apprehension and description are non counter, to understand the description of the premiss, or readying stage to set up a causal relationship; Di apprehension of object is the text of the religious life, or merely as the consequence of the religious life, and Weber attempted to advance the apprehension of the range to the full societal life, and that apprehension of the interaction between the histrions, histrions and even the development of the full human history. Weber, understand merely things in the field of civilization and scientific discipline like the extent of societal action.

Natural scientific discipline research object merely without understanding. Understand that there are two signifiers ; `` the subjective significance of a peculiar action direct experimental apprehension '' through such direct observation, we can understand what happened, if we want to larn more about why you need by virtuousness of another apprehension '' ( Prager, 1981 ) explanatory apprehension, motive histrions given the significance of the action understood.

Further, sociology should travel to people 's beliefs and values affect their actions. Social scientific penetration into the interpretative apprehension of societal phenomenon, it is necessary to re-explained from the causal relationship between these phenomena. Attitudes towards causality, rationalist and historicist school is really different: the former societal scientific disciplines to the natural scientific disciplines should be that you want to seek the constitution of the jurisprudence of cause and consequence, or

a cosmopolitan jurisprudence of; while in the latter the eyes of society or civilization scientific narration is alone and can non be a repetition of the history of the event, and therefore it is ineffectual to seek the jurisprudence of cause and consequence ( Prager, 1981 ) .

Weber 's apprehension of causality is to accommodate the two utmost positions of positivism and historicism school. On the one manus, Weber does non hold with the position of historicism, he thinks Sociology is science explanatory understanding about societal action, but must besides be causal description of the procedure and consequences; On the other manus, in the consciousness of Weber illustrated causal relationship is non needfully merely a possibility or an chance.

Compare & Contrast

Comparing of the object of survey

The sociology Standards Durkheim representative Hagiographas in this book, Durkheim sociological survey identified as `` societal facts or societal phenomenon. At the same clip he gave sociology under defined: behaviour, whether it is fixed or non fixed, all from the outside to give personal to restraints, or in other words, prevalent in the society , and has its built-in being, irrespective of the persons who are called societal facts. `` expression at Weber, we used to mention to Weber 's sociology called '' understanding sociology, his survey social action. He said, `` Sociology is a committed interpretive apprehension of societal action and do causal description of the procedure and impact of societal scientific discipline. '' (Morrison, 1990 & Pope & Cohen &  Hazelrigg, 1975 & Prager, 1981 )

From this we can see that the difference between the two Masterss stand foring the tradition of sociological theory. Social facts and societal

action is the range of the construct of two different sizes, we can state a relationship is included In other words, the Weber survey societal action stage for Durkheim 's societal facts appear to be more specific.

The logical thinking is non hard, due to macroeconomic grounds of societal facts, Durkheim Sociological Theory in the survey is an nonsubjective world, the object is `` material '. Weber sociology particular, single being, will be in the actions of the people in the society as the object of survey, and to acquire to cognize the `` secret '' hidden in concrete societal action behind their apprehension to do an interpretative make the concluding causal description. ( Morrison, 1990 & Prager, 1981 ) The Weber two sociological research authorization for interpretive apprehension of societal action and causality Description. As a consequence, they produce a sociological survey of the two major cabals - cabal of positivism and interpretive sociology research cantonment, and the turning differences between the two sides, ensuing in both contradictory.

The place of comparing

Durkheim basic stance of positivism. Sociological survey of class, is a societal phenomenon, in Durkheim, the survey of the organic structure should be a realistic orientation. The true province of the underlying societal phenomenon is natural and true, when people go to analyze it should keep this province unrecorded, human intercession should non be to sabotage and interrupt the individual has good mobility, feelings,  a series of features of bias, holier-than-thou, sloppy, and so forth, every bit long as the active interpolation clip outside of his societal action, these features it necessarily caused to him or her to take part in the activities.A So he

is convinced that the rules are to the individuality of the natural scientists to analyze societal scientific disciplines, constructs, methods and calculating equation borrowed from the natural scientific disciplines, the societal phenomenon as `` objects '' , as figures to look at and research, including the survey of theoretical experience can learn from the natural scientific disciplines. ( Durkheim 1985 & Prager, 1981 & Turner, 1990 )

Epistemology, rationalist empiricist philosophy, they advocate that the research consequences are confirmed by experience research workers through a figure of experiments and observe, maintain records, to hold on the feeling of all experience in the research procedure, and in order to do may be a simple manner to depict them. Researcher 's ain place should ever keep a impersonal value, Do non exposure engagement, attached together at every societal action. Research information that anterior proof surveies assume that the information must come from the existent probe of the societal imaginativeness instead than subjective.Positivism proposition can non be isolated research methods to analyze a peculiar job should be studied objects being placed in the community as a whole to acknowledge and understand, from the position that is a whole angle.

Weber 's interpretive sociology research workers believe that the object of their research is the societal world has local and situational features specific concept and explicate it. Interaction and engagement should be taken in the procedure of research and acquire to cognize, from a subjective, it 's the concluding consequence is non found but created. The same clip, the methods of sociological research, we should take the enterprise to understand, to believe, and even take the enterprise to make the necessary

conditions, full of the humanistic nature of this procedure, when intervention should be a dialectical position of the job.

Both sociological research rule of comparative

Durkheim said: `` decisive cause of a societal fact, should be the first to look into the societal fact of his being, and the province should non be to the single consciousness being to happen. '' ( Morrison, 1990 ) He pointed out that, like classical economics Spencer as single phenomenon to explicate societal facts merely to be reduced to the degree of psychological science Sociology. '' The map of a societal fact should ever be to to happen it with a societal intent relationship. '' In add-on, Durkheim added: `` When we try to explicate a societal phenomenon must be studied to bring forth the phenomenonA grounds and it has `` ( Prager, 1981 ) in the class of the survey, carried out the research object categorization, to maintain the true province of the societal facts, including its combinations, construction, sequence and map should non be capable to human intercession.

Weber 's rule is an apprehension of the principles. He firmly believes that societal action is meaningful and can be understood. Social action behind a alone religious significance and cultural significance, if that is non the manner of apprehension and description but impossible entirely positive methods of the natural sciences. Weber raised to understand there are two classs, the first 1 is the apprehension of the direct observation of the subjective significance ; a explanatory understand. Direct observation of apprehension is an intuitive apprehension of the societal action ; explanatory apprehension is necessary harmonizing to the motivations of the research workers to

hold on the significance given to the actions of the actors. The two methods are complementary and reciprocally reinforcing. Durkheim and Weber can be said at this point on is wholly different.

Decision

In decision, this essay present several theories and methods of Durkheim and Weber. After comparison and contrast their thoughts, we could happen that their theories and methods are rather different. Because Durkheim is a cardinal mind of positivism and Weber is a cardinal mind of interpretivism. Durkheim thought that structures that exist independently of the person. But Weber thought that verstehen involves an apprehension of what person is believing, which needs an apprehension of the civilization that individual lives in. That is the cardinal why their thoughts are so different. Both of them played an of import function in history. So it is suggested that the research workers should larn from them and utilize their thought to research societal scientific discipline.