Durkheim’s contributions to social science
Provide a brief overview of Durkheim’s contributions to social science and address the following questions:
How did Durkheim’s work and research form a foundational basis of sociology?
What are the strengths and shortcomings of sociological approaches that trace their origins to Durkheim?
What type of questions could Durkheim’s work best address today?
How might you use this approach in your research on either Human Services or Business Ethics?
Sample Answer
here is a brief overview of Durkheim’s contributions to social science and answers to your questions:
- How did Durkheim’s work and research form a foundational basis of sociology?
Durkheim is considered one of the founders of sociology. His work helped to establish sociology as a distinct academic discipline, separate from philosophy, psychology, and economics. He argued that sociology should be a scientific study of social facts, which he defined as objective, external forces that constrain individual behavior. Durkheim’s work also helped to develop the concepts of social solidarity, collective conscience, and anomie.
- What are the strengths and shortcomings of sociological approaches that trace their origins to Durkheim?
The strengths of sociological approaches that trace their origins to Durkheim include their focus on objective social facts, their emphasis on the importance of social order, and their ability to explain social phenomena in a systematic way. However, these approaches have also been criticized for being too deterministic and for neglecting the role of individual agency.