Emile Durkheim was one of the most important sociologists in history, without him, we would not be learning about sociology at all probably. He was the first person to ever teach about the science of sociology and it was needed to be taught in order to solve social/world problems. Emile Durkheim defined sociology as the study of society and institutions. Durkheim’s biggest contribution to the world today was his idea of division of labor and how it determined solidarity.
First and foremost, Emile Durkheim had many ideas and concepts about sociology and how each one was needed to maintain a good society. He approached social problems as if they were diseases that had to be cured. He also critiqued many aspects in society such as major assumptions and disciplines. But, the most important concept that Durkheim believed in was the division of labor. He believed that a division of labor was needed in order to fulfill societies roles. For example, people had to have roles in the community, such as a doctor, policeman, mechanic and etc. He also believed that in order to fulfill our needs in the society we had to rely on others to help us accomplish these need, since everyone has a different role that benefits us. Durkheim believed that there were three functions of division of labor and they were: it created structural relationships, with efficiency the skill of workers increased as well, and the third function was to fulfill the needs of society.
Equally important is, Durkheim said that the division of power produced solidarity, and solidarity was broken down into two divisions, mechanical and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity was much more community orientated since it was based on similarities. This meant that social interaction was based on the relationships that were formed over time. For example, in this kind of community the residents grew up with each other, and have known one another since they were little.
Also in this division of solidarity the division of labor was low. This meant that an individual in this community might have two role/jobs, such as an individual might be the town doctor and the town policeman at the same time. Mechanical solidarity was similar to what Max Weber coined as a “status group”. This meant that the people in this group/community had strong ties and bonds with one another, but when they went out of this group, the bonds became weak. An example of a community such as the one talked about above would be an Amish community, as we talked about in class as well.
The second division of solidarity was organic solidarity. This division was more based on the differentiation, meaning as the division of labor grew, and so did specialization. In this division the bonds between people were not close as in mechanical solidarity, but because of this interdependence was a crucial need. Since not everyone knows what to do in certain circumstance, they have to reply on others. For example, if a child got sick, the parents have to seek to someone who knows what to do, and what medicine to give to the sick child. Another difference between the two divisions of solidarity as Durkheim mentions was that, in mechanical solidarity relationships were formed from when the individuals were little since they grew up with one another. But, in organic solidarity relationships between people are based on their roles and statues that they can provide for one another.
An example to illustrate an mechanical solidarity community that we used in class were the Amish people, but another group that relates to this concept were the Kalahari San tribes. These tribes still exist today but are being forced out from their land and some are also not identifying them selves as San’s due to the fear of being discriminated against. But, long ago around 125,000 B.C.E. these people were similar to the Amish societies that we have now. These people lived in small groups, as it relates to mechanical solidarity, meaning the population was small, and the division of labor was small as well. Many of these people had similar roles such as hunting and gathering for one another to survive.
The social interaction of the San community was so close that they intermarried with the community that came to their land, the Bantu people. Their major emphasis was on the community so they formed the click sounds of the Khoisan language to communicate with the people around them, it created stronger social bonds. But, since the San people and their community had weak bonds with the rest of the people outside their society, it lead to major consequences. Such as the Dutch people invaded their land since they were just a minority status group, and the Dutch began killing them. By the 19th century, people believed that the San society was gone forever. But, there are many who survived the invasion and are still living today.
First and foremost, Emile Durkheim had many ideas and concepts about sociology and how each one was needed to maintain a good society. He approached social problems as if they were diseases that had to be cured. He also critiqued many aspects in society such as major assumptions and disciplines. But, the most important concept that Durkheim believed in was the division of labor. He believed that a division of labor was needed in order to fulfill societies roles. For example, people had to have roles in the community, such as a doctor, policeman, mechanic and etc. He also believed that in order to fulfill our needs in the society we had to rely on others to help us accomplish these need, since everyone has a different role that benefits us. Durkheim believed that there were three functions of division of labor and they were: it created structural relationships, with efficiency the skill of workers increased as well, and the third function was to fulfill the needs of society.
Equally important is, Durkheim said that the division of power produced solidarity, and solidarity was broken down into two divisions, mechanical and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity was much more community orientated since it was based on similarities. This meant that social interaction was based on the relationships that were formed over time. For example, in this kind of community the residents grew up with each other, and have known one another since they were little.
Also in this division of solidarity the division of labor was low. This meant that an individual in this community might have two role/jobs, such as an individual might be the town doctor and the town policeman at the same time. Mechanical solidarity was similar to what Max Weber coined as a “status group”. This meant that the people in this group/community had strong ties and bonds with one another, but when they went out of this group, the bonds became weak. An example of a community such as the one talked about above would be an Amish community, as we talked about in class as well.
The second division of solidarity was organic solidarity. This division was more based on the differentiation, meaning as the division of labor grew, and so did specialization. In this division the bonds between people were not close as in mechanical solidarity, but because of this interdependence was a crucial need. Since not everyone knows what to do in certain circumstance, they have to reply on others. For example, if a child got sick, the parents have to seek to someone who knows what to do, and what medicine to give to the sick child. Another difference between the two divisions of solidarity as Durkheim mentions was that, in mechanical solidarity relationships were formed from when the individuals were little since they grew up with one another. But, in organic solidarity relationships between people are based on their roles and statues that they can provide for one another.
An example to illustrate an mechanical solidarity community that we used in class were the Amish people, but another group that relates to this concept were the Kalahari San tribes. These tribes still exist today but are being forced out from their land and some are also not identifying them selves as San’s due to the fear of being discriminated against. But, long ago around 125,000 B.C.E. these people were similar to the Amish societies that we have now. These people lived in small groups, as it relates to mechanical solidarity, meaning the population was small, and the division of labor was small as well. Many of these people had similar roles such as hunting and gathering for one another to survive.
The social interaction of the San community was so close that they intermarried with the community that came to their land, the Bantu people. Their major emphasis was on the community so they formed the click sounds of the Khoisan language to communicate with the people around them, it created stronger social bonds. But, since the San people and their community had weak bonds with the rest of the people outside their society, it lead to major consequences. Such as the Dutch people invaded their land since they were just a minority status group, and the Dutch began killing them. By the 19th century, people believed that the San society was gone forever. But, there are many who survived the invasion and are still living today.