Premium Essay

Discuss Durkheim’s Theory of Social Solidarity and Organic Solidarity.

In: Other Topics

Submitted By malyy
Words 1097
Pages 5
LEGAL ETHICS

Discuss Durkheim’s theory of social solidarity and organic solidarity.

Durkheim’s theory states that a society is like an organism with different structures and functions, he acknowledges the presence of individuals and social solidarity. He believed that a society is held by a division of labour and that the structure can be changed over time. His basic argument is that there are two types of social solidarity, mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity.. Societies with limited division of labour fall under mechanical solidarity and societies with high division of labour fall under organic solidarity.In both societies individuals act according to what they are obliged to do for others,so each person is recognized for their contributions to the society.Social morality in this sense is ‘strictly necessary’ for solidarity between people to occur; without morality, “societies cannot exist.’” (Grabb, p. 79).According to Giddens (p. 73), the main substantive problem for Durkheim stems from “an apparent moral ambiguity concerning the relationship between the individual and society in the contemporary world.”

Mechanical solidarity is the solidarity that comes with likeness,the early societies tended to be small and simple.Durkheim also adds that mechanical solidarity mean the common ideas and tendancies of members the societies are larger in number than individual ideas and tendencies.The division of labour was little and it was divided by sex and age.In this type of society everyone carries out their similar tasks and work and the work is normally shared equally.The members express similar values and norms and this keeps them on the same level of likeness,thus there is no room given to individuality.

In a mechanical system legal system law tends to be penal, crime to this type of society is a crime to all because crime is an offense to

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Emile Durkheim

...common thread, a tie that binds, whether it’s where you live or beliefs you have or the fact that you give when they need. Yes, it can be as simple as that.” Discuss how this Starbucks advertisement captures the different meanings of community associated with Durkheim’s concepts of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. Find additional examples that illustrate the value of community as both a local and a global phenomenon. Solidarity refers to the integration amongst groups of people and neighbors within society due to social ties that may arise from common responsibilities and interests. Social bonds are created between people from these communal ties which revolves around the principles of shared morals, values, kinship and association. According to Durkheim without the smooth correspondence of morality and social organization to form a properly functioning society through social cohesion and adaption social ties will be nonexistent hence creating anomie. This essay will be covering both mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity, showing the differences and overlapping factors in relation to the Starbucks advertisement. Following Durkheim's concept of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity, the term community has different meanings between the two concepts. Mechanical solidarity describes social connection through a traditional sense within a smaller uniform community of people who feel connected via similar work, education, religion and lifestyle. Individuals...

Words: 942 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

- Wk8 Modernization Assignment

...Modernization generally refers to social structures at present, especially that established in an industrialized society where urbanization and specialization as well as technological advancement are only among the indicators. Emile Durkheim's (1997,orig.1893) ideas on modernization, while sharing Tonnies' Gemeinschaft & Gesellschaft (1968,orig.1925)ideas on the nature of modern societies echoes aspect of Karl Weber's Rationalization(1978) theories on modernity while wholly embracing that capitalism is as much a result and a cause of the modern world. Specialization and division of labour for Durkheim has created a post-industrial world of highly skilled societies, expertise becomes particular; enhancing dependence and competition, and while success becomes inevitable as well as failure due to the very nature of competition, interdependence and creation of social structures to facilitate the nature of modern markets has created a much globalized economy. Durkheim's ideas on division of labour & specialization is more apt at explaining the technology enhanced global capitalism that our world is practicing, which he calls 'organic solidarity' (1997, orig.1893); at the same time, his ideas on 'anomie' the possible collapse of moral values due to an increasingly individualized & competitive social situation serves to warn and encourages the creation of check & balances to prevent such collapse. The United States is a country that is rich in opportunities and culture...

Words: 1167 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Is the Formation of Gangs Linked to the Strains Set Out by Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin? Might Other Explanations Explain This Phenomenon Better? Discuss

...the strains set out by Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin? Might other explanations explain this phenomenon better? Discuss Theorists have been and for a long time interested in trying to explain why people commit crimes and violence and whether people have the choice and choose to commit crime (Classical theory) or it is in their genes (positivists theory). In 1897 Durkheim in concentrated his efforts to understand society and was investigating social facts. In his book Suicide (1897) Durkheim explained the anomie concept where he outlined the causes of suicide and described a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values and an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness. According to Thompson 1984, Durkheim felt that his empirical study of suicide had discovered the structural forces that caused anomie and egoism, and these forces were natural results of the decline of mechanical solidarity and the slow rise of organic solidarity due to the division of labour and industrialism. Also of importance was Durkheim's discovery that these forces affected all social classes. A major figure in the development of Criminal theories is Robert K. Merton. He introduced his social theory of deviance first in 1938 and extended and revised it in 1957. Merton argued that individuals in different social class positions in the social structure do not possess the same opportunity of realizing the shared values of success, and this situation...

Words: 2523 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Sosc

...group. Individualistic thinking at Universities: Professors award individual students with grades based on their ‘individual’ merits. What would the SOCIOLOGIST ask? Do some students have to work to earn money? Do some students have to spend time commuting to campus (no dorms!)? Do some students have family responsibilities.? Do some courses/majors have more generous grading procedures than others? Why are there more A students now than there were twenty years ago??? When and Why did sociological thinking begin? SOCRATES: “An unexamined life is not worth living!” In the 18th Century, life was nasty violent and short. How can we make a better society given that people are self-seeking? How is social order possible? THOMAS HOBBES: The Social Contract It is necessary for some people to give up their individual freedoms so that we can have peace and order in society. JOHN STUART MILL: The purpose of Liberal Studies at Universities “The object...

Words: 5066 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Sociology

...Glossary of Sociological Terms |11-Plus Exam |Examination introduced with the 1944 Education Act, sat by all pupils in the state sector| | |at the age of 11. If they passed they went to the selective Grammar School, or if they | | |failed to the Secondary Modern School. This exam still exists in some counties such as | | |Kent and also in Northern Ireland. | |12-Plus Exam |Exam made available only to a minority of 'high-flyers' in Secondary Modern schools, | | |offering a late chance to go to Grammar School at the age of 12. | |'30-30-40 society' |A term associated with Will Hutton to describe an increasingly insecure and polarised | | |society. The bottom 30 per cent is socially excluded by poverty from the rest of society.| | |The next 30 per cent live in fear and insecurity of falling into poverty. Only the top 40| | |per cent feel secure and confident. ...

Words: 22530 - Pages: 91

Premium Essay

Road to Hell

...one- -Sociology is the scientific study of social relations, behaviors, and arrangements. Sociology is one of the social sciences -Socialization is a life-long learning process, which inc. the process by which infants become adults -Auguste Comte was the first person to use the term sociology in 1838, He was a French Philosopher -The early sociologist were concerned with the study of moral statistic, and the first among these was Suicide rates -Emile Durkheim studied the relationship between suicide and social forces, he held that behavior should not be considered an individualistic matter, but in a broader social context. He argued that there is a link between the degree of social integration and suicide. He believed the greater the autonomy or Independence of a category of people, the higher the suicide rate. He came up with the term Anomie, which is a floundering, or loss of purpose and direction people experience during periods of extreme social change. -Max Weber's theory was that social behavior can only be understood when the meanings of the people's actions are known, it is necessary to understand the attitudes, feelings, and beliefs. He called this Verstehen, a German word for understanding. -Karl Marx focused on the struggle between social classes of people. Marx called owners of the means of production the bourgeoisie and the non-owners the proletariat. Marx believed that a social class was determined solely by economics. ...

Words: 20445 - Pages: 82

Premium Essay

Help

...CHOICE QUESTIONS 1. b The sociological perspective is an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context. (4) 2 . d Sociologists consider occupation, income, education, gender, age, and race as dimensions of social location.(4) 3. d All three statements reflect ways in which the social sciences are like the natural sciences. Both attempt to study and understand their subjects objectively; both attempt to undercover the relationships that create order in their respective worlds through controlled observation; and both are divided into many specialized fields. (5-7) 4. c Generalization is one of the goals of scientific inquiry. It involves going beyond individual cases by making statements that apply to broader groups or situations. (7) 5. b The Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and the development of the scientific method all contributed to the development of sociology. The fourth influence was the political revolutions in America and France — there was no political revolution in Britain at that time. (8-9) 6. d Positivism is the application of the scientific approach to the social world. (9) 7. d Of the four statements, the one that best reflects Herbert Spencer’s views on charity is “The poor are the weakest members of society and if society intervenes to help them, it is interrupting the natural process of social evolution.” While many contemporaries of Spencer’s were appalled by his views, the wealthy industrialists found them attractive...

Words: 52339 - Pages: 210

Premium Essay

Bdhs

...Social Change and Modernity Edited By Hans Haferkamp and Neil J. Smelser UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford © 1992 The Regents of the University of California INTRODUCTION Hans Haferkamp and Neil J. Smelser Haferkamp is grateful to Angelika Schade for her fruitful comments and her helpful assistance in editing this volume and to Geoff Hunter for translating the first German version of parts of the Introduction; Smelser has profited from the research assistance and critical analyses given by Joppke. 1. Social Change and Modernity Those who organized the conference on which this volume is based—including the editors— decided to use the terms "social change" and "modernity" as the organizing concepts for this project. Because these terms enjoy wide usage in contemporary sociology and are general and inclusive, they seem preferable to more specific terms such as "evolution" "progress," "differentiation," or even "development," many of which evoke more specific mechanisms, processes, and directions of change. Likewise, we have excluded historically specific terms such as "late capitalism" and "industrial society" even though these concepts figure prominently in many of the contributions to this volume. The conference strategy called for a general statement of a metaframework for the study of social change within which a variety of more specific theories could be identified. 2. Theories of Social Change Change is such an evident feature of...

Words: 171529 - Pages: 687

Premium Essay

Past Papers

...before reproducing any of them. Please note all rights held by the former Higher Still Development Unit continue to be held by Learning and Teaching Scotland. Contents Statement of Standards 3 Guide to Learning and Teaching Pack 7 Introduction to the Unit and Learning and Teaching Approaches 8 Class stratification 9 Recommended reading and recommended websites for class stratification 10 Introduction to social stratification 11 Class stratification 15 Functionalist theory of class stratification 24 Summary of functionalism 29 Marxist theory of class stratification 33 Summary of Marxism 39 Weberian theory of class stratification 42 Summary of Weberianism 47 Aspect: social mobility 50 Aspect: social closure 52 Practice exam essay question...

Words: 19327 - Pages: 78

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation of Millions

...Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement, introducing a 21st century Black Youth Manifesto to ask the youth of the Black community to pick up where previous social movements left off and take back their communities, their families, and reclaim their hope for the future. 3 Table of Contents Abstract . . . . Chapter One: Introduction  My Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5  Strain and...

Words: 19872 - Pages: 80

Premium Essay

Politics, Theology

...ranges widely across the disciplines of theology, political theory and philosophy and poses acute questions about the basic moral foundations of liberal societies. Lord Plant focuses on the role that religious belief can and ought to play in argument about public policy in a pluralistic society. He examines the potential political implications of Christian belief and the ways in which it may be deployed in political debate. The book is a contribution to the modern debate about the moral pluralism of western liberal societies, discussing the place of religious belief in the formation of policy and asking what sorts of issues in modern society might be the legitimate objects of a Christian social and political concern. Raymond Plant has written an important study of the relationship between religion and politics which will be of value to students, academics, politicians, church professionals, policy makers and all concerned with the moral fabric of contemporary life. r ay m on d pl an t is Professor of European Political Thought at the University of Southampton and a Member of the House of Lords. He was a Home affairs spokesperson for the Labour Party from 1992 to 1996, and Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford, from 1994 to 2000. Lord Plant's main publications are Social and Moral Theory in Casework (1970), Community and Ideology: An Essay in Applied Moral Philosophy (1974), Hegel (1974), Political Philosophy and Social Welfare (with H. Lesser and P. TaylorGooby, 1979), Philosophy...

Words: 144283 - Pages: 578

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation

...  This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in camp which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement, introducing a 21st century Black Youth Manifesto to ask the youth of the Black community to pick up where previous social movements left off and take back their communities, their families, and reclaim their hope for the...

Words: 18864 - Pages: 76

Premium Essay

Rastafarian

...Rastafari This page intentionally left blank Rastafari From Outcasts to Culture Bearers Ennis Barrington Edmonds 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Copyright © 2003 by Ennis Barrington Edmonds The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Edmonds...

Words: 79520 - Pages: 319

Premium Essay

Study Habits

.... Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account...

Words: 230271 - Pages: 922

Free Essay

Where Am I Wearing

...Contents Preface Prologue: We have it Made Part I: The Mission Chapter 1: A Consumer Goes Global Chapter 2: Tattoo’s Tropical Paradise Chapter 3: Fake Blood, Sweat, and Tears Part II: My Underwear: Made in Bangladesh Chapter 4: Jingle these Chapter 5: Undercover in the Underwear Biz Chapter 6: Bangladesh Amusement Park Chapter 7: Inside My First Sweatshop Chapter 8: Child Labor in Action Chapter 9: Arifa, the Garment Worker Chapter 10: Hope Chapter 11: No Black and White, Only Green Update for Revised Edition: Hungry for Choices Part III: My Pants: Made in Cambodia Chapter 12: Labor Day Chapter 13: Year Zero Chapter 14: Those Who Wear Levi’s Chapter 15: Those Who Make Levi’s Chapter 16: Blue Jean Machine Chapter 17: Progress Chapter 18: Treasure and Trash Update for Revised Edition: The Faces of Crisis Part IV: My Flip-Flops: Made in China Chapter 19: PO’ed VP Chapter 20: Life at the Bottom Chapter 21: Growing Pains Chapter 22: The Real China Chapter 23: On a Budget Chapter 24: An All-American Chinese Walmart Chapter 25: The Chinese Fantasy Update for Revised Edition: Migration Part V: Made in America Chapter 26: For Richer, for Poorer Update for Revised Edition: Restarting, Again Chapter 27: Return to Fantasy Island Chapter 28: Amilcar’s Journey Chapter 29: An American Dream Chapter 30: Touron Goes Glocal Appendix A: Discussion Questions Appendix B: Note to Freshman Me Appendix C: Where Are You Teaching? Acknowledgments Copyright © 2012 by Kelsey Timmerman...

Words: 95921 - Pages: 384