Lake_ Blog 4
Social Facts
Emile Durkheim is one of the founding fathers of sociology, using the scientific method for studying social phenomena. He has been noted for using the taken for granted social factors and using them to describe the way we interact with one another. He took the most basic of
interactions and formally described them although most people would have just
made an assumption. Durkheim’s definition of social fact is “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”. These social facts can also be described as structured
tendencies that determine phenomena and events. Durkheim then defines what he
called “things” relating to social facts with several different examples. I
found the example of “everything that the mind cannot succeed in understanding
except by going outside itself in the form of observations and experiments” to
be the most useful in understanding. I see this as what a person cannot
naturally understand except by looking beyond assumptions and making empirical
observations and testing those observations in other situations. Durkheim also
brings about the idea of the collective consciousness. The collective/social consciousness
is a basically group think on a large scale. This is the understanding of the
social world and guides the behavior of individuals because it is what has come
to be expected of them.
Studying social facts are an interesting way of looking at human behavior, because it governs how one acts, given the constraints placed by external factors. It’s interesting to look the rules placed on people without these rules being written down in any particular place.
Using Durkheim’s method of positivist sociology, I want to describe some of the
social facts and look at the unwritten social rules that govern situations people encounter on any given day without necessarily paying attention to the fact that they are self governing. For these examples I will use public transportation, as well as some customs associated with dating.
To begin, actions governing the way in which commuters act on various forms of public transportation show a few different “things”. The rules of the road seem to have a heavy influence on actions when using this service. Chicago’s CTA Blue line, for example has an
escalator wide enough to fit two people. During the rush of commuters getting off at a given stop it would seem like the rules of the road apply to pedestrians because the slower moving people stand to the right of the escalator to let faster moving people by. There is no sign that says “slower traffic keep right”. During the off peak time when there are less people using the service than during morning and evening rush hours; more seats are available. If there are very few people on the train, people don’t typically sit directly next to another person. There is no sign that says “fill in these seats first”.
Another area of social fact governing actions can be seen in dating customs. Typically on first dates the lady is not supposed to drive, not open doors, and not pay for the bill. These are social customs handed down from prior generations that govern the way people go out on dates. The unwritten rule of not dating someone that has been involved with your
friend also comes to mind. There is no friendship handbook that states this, but
as friendships go; if you date someone that has dated your friend, unnecessary
tension will ensue between you and your friend. Many people would say it’s just
something you don’t do. These rules that are not specifically defined in text existed before most people in my generation, and therefore outside of our own individual ideas. These obligations that we assume are a part of socialization and are adhered to for fear of negative consequences that might arise because of any deviation from it. Durkheim wrote in the Rules of Sociological Method, “When I undertake my duties as a brother, husband, or citizen and fulfill the commitments that I have entered into, I perform obligations which are defined outside myself and my actions, in law and custom”.Each hat you wear, whether it is commuter or companion, determines the obligations and commitments you are expected to fulfill through what Durkheim defined as social fact.
Social Facts
Emile Durkheim is one of the founding fathers of sociology, using the scientific method for studying social phenomena. He has been noted for using the taken for granted social factors and using them to describe the way we interact with one another. He took the most basic of
interactions and formally described them although most people would have just
made an assumption. Durkheim’s definition of social fact is “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”. These social facts can also be described as structured
tendencies that determine phenomena and events. Durkheim then defines what he
called “things” relating to social facts with several different examples. I
found the example of “everything that the mind cannot succeed in understanding
except by going outside itself in the form of observations and experiments” to
be the most useful in understanding. I see this as what a person cannot
naturally understand except by looking beyond assumptions and making empirical
observations and testing those observations in other situations. Durkheim also
brings about the idea of the collective consciousness. The collective/social consciousness
is a basically group think on a large scale. This is the understanding of the
social world and guides the behavior of individuals because it is what has come
to be expected of them.
Studying social facts are an interesting way of looking at human behavior, because it governs how one acts, given the constraints placed by external factors. It’s interesting to look the rules placed on people without these rules being written down in any particular place.
Using Durkheim’s method of positivist sociology, I want to describe some of the
social facts and look at the unwritten social rules that govern situations people encounter on any given day without necessarily paying attention to the fact that they are self governing. For these examples I will use public transportation, as well as some customs associated with dating.
To begin, actions governing the way in which commuters act on various forms of public transportation show a few different “things”. The rules of the road seem to have a heavy influence on actions when using this service. Chicago’s CTA Blue line, for example has an
escalator wide enough to fit two people. During the rush of commuters getting off at a given stop it would seem like the rules of the road apply to pedestrians because the slower moving people stand to the right of the escalator to let faster moving people by. There is no sign that says “slower traffic keep right”. During the off peak time when there are less people using the service than during morning and evening rush hours; more seats are available. If there are very few people on the train, people don’t typically sit directly next to another person. There is no sign that says “fill in these seats first”.
Another area of social fact governing actions can be seen in dating customs. Typically on first dates the lady is not supposed to drive, not open doors, and not pay for the bill. These are social customs handed down from prior generations that govern the way people go out on dates. The unwritten rule of not dating someone that has been involved with your
friend also comes to mind. There is no friendship handbook that states this, but
as friendships go; if you date someone that has dated your friend, unnecessary
tension will ensue between you and your friend. Many people would say it’s just
something you don’t do. These rules that are not specifically defined in text existed before most people in my generation, and therefore outside of our own individual ideas. These obligations that we assume are a part of socialization and are adhered to for fear of negative consequences that might arise because of any deviation from it. Durkheim wrote in the Rules of Sociological Method, “When I undertake my duties as a brother, husband, or citizen and fulfill the commitments that I have entered into, I perform obligations which are defined outside myself and my actions, in law and custom”.Each hat you wear, whether it is commuter or companion, determines the obligations and commitments you are expected to fulfill through what Durkheim defined as social fact.