When Emile Durkheim first established the field of sociology as an academic discipline, he was interested in the ways in which societies functioned. In order to identify the ways in which societies operate, sociologists needed to go beyond just studying the individual. To obtain an accurate idea of how societies work, sociologists needed to study the interactions made between individuals, as well as the interactions made between individuals and institutions. From his studies, he realized that a society’s interactions were greatly influenced by social forces. He came to the conclusion that both history and materialistic circumstances propelled the interactions, behaviors and ideas of a society. Durkheim identified the social forces that affect a society as social facts or what are commonly known as social structures. Durkheim defines a social fact as, “every way of acting, whether fixed or not, which is capable of exercising an external constraint on the individual; or, which is general throughout a given society, whilst having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations”. Based on his definition of a social fact, I believe racial segregation is a good example to explain what a social fact is and how they act within a society.
It has been said that Chicago is the most racially segregated city in the whole nation. It is one of the cities with the most diversity, but it is none the less racially segregated. Racial segregation is the idea that people are geographically divided by race into different areas. There are three main components to Durkheim’s definition of social fact. The first one is that of an individual’s behavior and the patterns in their behavior whether consistent or inconsistent. It is easy to recognize that Chicago has been a city of immigrants throughout history. What is very important to notice is where individuals choose to settle and the reasons for doing so. According to urban sociologists, Mark Abrahamson, from an early age, enclaves have been forming throughout cities. An enclave is a group of individuals that are divided into classes based on wealth, life-style, race, ethnicity and religion. In general, individuals do not like to settle in places where everything is foreign to them. People tend to settle in places where there are others like them whether it is relatives, friends, acquaintances or just people who they might be able to relate with easily. Settling in locations where people from their same ethnicity and race live gives them the comfort and familiarity of being a community. Seeing how different neighborhoods grow in numbers with people from the same ethnicity and race is how we start seeing the constant patterns of behaviors in individuals when referring to social segregation.
The second component to Durkheim’s social fact concept is that of there being external constraints on the individual. It is the idea that there are external forces beyond an individual’s power that greatly influence their behavior. To explain the idea of racial segregation as a social fact, I refer to urban sociologist Harvey Zorbaugh’s concept of natural areas. He states that, “a natural area is a geographical area characterized both by a physical individuality and by the cultural characteristics of the people who live in it” (82). A natural area is a unique area in which individuals who share similar customs, beliefs, mores, traditions, sentiments, interests and institutions live. This is the basic idea of what a neighborhood is. When people are in search of a place to live they most often take into consideration the type of people that live in the area, the services available to them and the affordability of the area. A person of lower economic status would simply not be able to afford a home in the Gold Coast of Chicago where the majority of the cities wealth is. Another reasonable example can be that of a Hispanic or Latino going to live in a neighborhood like Chinatown, where they speak a different language, the services offered, like grocery stores, are not suitable for a traditional Hispanic or Latino person. The main idea is that there are external social constraints that influence the decisions people take. In this case, individuals based themselves on race, ethnicity and economic affordability to situate themselves in the most convenient location, this therefore causing racial segregation in societies.
The third component to Durkheim’s social fact concept is that of the independent existence of a social phenomenon. Social facts exist independent from everything else (sui generis). The purpose is to attempt to separate the concept of a social fact from that of the individuals’ manifestations or behaviors. In Chicago there are various examples of neighborhoods, each of which accommodate a different predominant race or ethnicity. Racial segregation is a ‘thing’ that can be empirically tested, especially in the city of Chicago.
Throughout this paper, I have tried to explain Durkheim’s concept of social facts through the idea of social segregation. A social fact consists of the individuals’ behaviors and the patterns found, the idea of external social forces affecting the individuals’ behaviors and lastly the idea that a social fact exists on their own. Overall, social facts are things that can help us understand how societies work.
It has been said that Chicago is the most racially segregated city in the whole nation. It is one of the cities with the most diversity, but it is none the less racially segregated. Racial segregation is the idea that people are geographically divided by race into different areas. There are three main components to Durkheim’s definition of social fact. The first one is that of an individual’s behavior and the patterns in their behavior whether consistent or inconsistent. It is easy to recognize that Chicago has been a city of immigrants throughout history. What is very important to notice is where individuals choose to settle and the reasons for doing so. According to urban sociologists, Mark Abrahamson, from an early age, enclaves have been forming throughout cities. An enclave is a group of individuals that are divided into classes based on wealth, life-style, race, ethnicity and religion. In general, individuals do not like to settle in places where everything is foreign to them. People tend to settle in places where there are others like them whether it is relatives, friends, acquaintances or just people who they might be able to relate with easily. Settling in locations where people from their same ethnicity and race live gives them the comfort and familiarity of being a community. Seeing how different neighborhoods grow in numbers with people from the same ethnicity and race is how we start seeing the constant patterns of behaviors in individuals when referring to social segregation.
The second component to Durkheim’s social fact concept is that of there being external constraints on the individual. It is the idea that there are external forces beyond an individual’s power that greatly influence their behavior. To explain the idea of racial segregation as a social fact, I refer to urban sociologist Harvey Zorbaugh’s concept of natural areas. He states that, “a natural area is a geographical area characterized both by a physical individuality and by the cultural characteristics of the people who live in it” (82). A natural area is a unique area in which individuals who share similar customs, beliefs, mores, traditions, sentiments, interests and institutions live. This is the basic idea of what a neighborhood is. When people are in search of a place to live they most often take into consideration the type of people that live in the area, the services available to them and the affordability of the area. A person of lower economic status would simply not be able to afford a home in the Gold Coast of Chicago where the majority of the cities wealth is. Another reasonable example can be that of a Hispanic or Latino going to live in a neighborhood like Chinatown, where they speak a different language, the services offered, like grocery stores, are not suitable for a traditional Hispanic or Latino person. The main idea is that there are external social constraints that influence the decisions people take. In this case, individuals based themselves on race, ethnicity and economic affordability to situate themselves in the most convenient location, this therefore causing racial segregation in societies.
The third component to Durkheim’s social fact concept is that of the independent existence of a social phenomenon. Social facts exist independent from everything else (sui generis). The purpose is to attempt to separate the concept of a social fact from that of the individuals’ manifestations or behaviors. In Chicago there are various examples of neighborhoods, each of which accommodate a different predominant race or ethnicity. Racial segregation is a ‘thing’ that can be empirically tested, especially in the city of Chicago.
Throughout this paper, I have tried to explain Durkheim’s concept of social facts through the idea of social segregation. A social fact consists of the individuals’ behaviors and the patterns found, the idea of external social forces affecting the individuals’ behaviors and lastly the idea that a social fact exists on their own. Overall, social facts are things that can help us understand how societies work.