modified:: 2023-10-19, 1330
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Durkheim Quotesheet
Overview
The most salient quotes for each concept.
Repressive Laws
See Repressive Laws.
"It is a sign indicating that the sentiments of the collectivity are still unchanged, that the communion of minds sharing the same beliefs remain absolute, and in this way the injury that the crime has inflicted upon society is made good." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 63)
Collective Consciousness
"The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own... By definition it is diffused over society as a whole, but nonetheless possesses specific characteristics that make it a distinctive reality." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 39)
Mechanical Solidarity
See Durkheim's Freedom and Individuality & Mechanical Solidarity.
"The solidarity that derives from similarities is at its maximum when the collective consciousness completely envelops our total consciousness, coinciding with it at every point. At that moment our individuality is zero." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 84)
Restitutive Laws
See Restitutive Laws.
"If certain acts have already been performed, the judge restores them to what they should be. He pronounces what the law is, but does not talk of punishment." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 68)
"The idea that murder can be tolerated sets us up in arms, but we very readily accept that the law of inheritance might be modified, and many even conceive that it could be abolished." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 69)
Organic Solidarity
See Durkheim's Freedom and Individuality & Organic Solidarity.
"The most notable effect of the division of labour is not that it increases the productivity of the functions that are divided in this way, but that it links them very closely together." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 21)
"The division of labour itself contributes to this liberating effect. Individual natures become more complex through specialising; by this very fact they are partly shielded against the effects of the collectivity and the influences of heredity, which can scarcely enforce themselves except in simple, general matters." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 335)
"that network of ties that gradually becomes woven of its own accord and that makes organic solidarity something that is permanent." (Durkheim, 1893, 303)
Societal Shift
See Durkheim's Societal Shift.
"Thanks to [Division of Labour], rivals are not obliged to eliminate one another completely, but can coexist side by side." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 213)
"Not only does the division of labour exhibit that character by which we define morality, but it increasingly tends to become the essential condition for social solidarity." (Durkheim, 1893, 332)
Anomic Division of Labour
See Anomic Division of Labour.
"The manner in which they should co-operate… must be predetermined. Otherwise, a fresh struggle would be required each time in order to bring them into a state of equilibrium with one another…" (Durkheim, 1893, pg 301)
"Thus the morality corresponding to [mechanical] society has lost influence, but without its successor developing quickly enough to occupy the space left vacant in our consciousness." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 339)
Forced Division of Labour
See Forced Division of Labour.
"When the caste regime has disappeared by law, it survives in morality. Thanks to the persistence of certain prejudices, a certain favouritism is attached to some individuals, and the converse, unrelated to their merits, obtains for others." (Durkheim, 1893 pg 313)
"It requires us only to be charitable and just towards our fellow-men, to fulfil our task well, to work towards a state where everyone is called to fulfil the function he performs best and will receive a just reward for his efforts." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 338)
Resolution
See Anomic Division of Labour.
"find ways of harmonious co-operation between those organs that still clash discordantly together. We need to introduce into their relationships a greater justice by diminishing those external inequalities that are the source of our ills." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 340)