Émile Durkheim

Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Sociology, alongside Karl Marx and Max Weber. He established sociology as a scientific discipline distinct from psychology and philosophy. His works focused on social facts, collective consciousness, religion, division of labour, education, and suicide — core foundations of modern sociological thought.

Durkheim believed that society is a reality of its own and that individual behaviour is shaped by social forces. His theories laid the foundation for functionalism, viewing society as a system where all parts contribute to social order and stability.

Émile Durkheim: Major Books and Works

Year	Book / Work Title	Key Contribution
1893	The Division of Labour in Society	Theory of mechanical vs. organic solidarity
1895	The Rules of Sociological Method	Defined sociology as a scientific discipline; concept of social facts
1897	Suicide: A Study in Sociology	First rigorous sociological research using statistical data; types of suicide
1912	The Elementary Forms of Religious Life	Theory of religion, sacred vs. profane, totemism
Various Years	Essays on Education, Moral Sociology	Role of education and morality in social integration

Durkheim’s Major Sociological Ideas and Theories

Sociology as the Study of Social Facts

Durkheim defined social facts as:

Ways of thinking and acting external to the individual and exerting coercive power over them.

Examples: Laws, language, beliefs, institutions
Social facts → must be studied like things, objectively and scientifically.

Theory of Division of Labour

In his book (1893), Durkheim explained two types of social solidarity:

Mechanical Solidarity
Found in traditional societies
Based on similarity, collective conscience, and strong social bonding
Organic Solidarity
Found in modern industrial societies
Based on differentiation, specialization, and interdependence

A healthy division of labour creates social cohesion; an unhealthy one leads to anomie (normlessness).

Theory of Suicide

Durkheim’s Suicide (1897) was the first major sociological study using data.
He identified four types of suicide:

Type	Cause	Society Type
Egoistic	Weak social integration	Individualism dominates
Altruistic	Excessive integration	Duty to group (martyrdom)
Anomic	Sudden social change; normlessness	Economic crisis or rapid growth
Fatalistic	Excessive regulation	Oppressive rules (e.g., prisoners)

He proved that suicide is influenced by social forces, not just personal reasons.

Theory of Religion

In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Durkheim explained that:

Religion is a collective phenomenon
Society divides life into sacred and profane
Totemism is the simplest form of religion
Worship of the sacred is actually worship of society

Religion → creates social solidarity, moral unity, and collective consciousness

Functionalist Perspective

Durkheim saw society as a functionally integrated system.
Each institution — family, religion, education, economy, polity — performs essential functions to maintain social order.

This led to the development of structural functionalism, expanded later by Parsons.

Legacy and Influence of Émile Durkheim

Founded the first European department of sociology
First sociologist to apply empirical methods
Inspired modern sociological research on education, law, religion, morality, and deviance

Durkheim’s ideas remain central to sociology textbooks and civil services exams.

Conclusion

Émile Durkheim laid the scientific foundation of sociology. His theories of social facts, solidarity, anomie, suicide, and religion continue to shape how we understand society today. For students of sociology, knowing Durkheim is crucial to understanding the “sociological imagination” in its true sense.