Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Throughout the span of hundreds of years, many notable scientists contributed to anthropologic ideas. David Émile Durkheim, considered one founder of the school of sociology, changed the way of thinking and ideas still used in anthropology today. Durkheim was born in Epinal, France on April 15th, 1858. His father and grandfather were Rabbis, and Durkheim was raised with the expectation to become a rabbi in the future (Thompson 2017). Although not the end of his religious ideations, Durkheim disaffiliated from the religion in 1887. He married a woman named Louise Julie Dreyfus and had two children shortly after. Following the death of his son, Émile Durkheim passed away on November 15, 1917, at age 59.
Growing up, Émile Durkheim exceeded expectations throughout his educational career and eventually voiced his own beliefs about the system itself. He attended the Collège d'Epinal and skipped through two years before obtaining his bachelors in Letters and Sciences (Thompson 2017). Durkheim immediately aimed to become a teacher but grief over his father’s recent passing held him back. After failing his first two entrance examinations, Durkheim passed the final competitive exam and accepted a job at Sens, a state secondary school, in 1882. Throughout his years of teaching, Durkheim began examining the educational system. His research led him to portray two functions in advanced societies: magnifying social solidarity and teaching skills through a specialized division of labor. The educational system allows individuals to find their purpose in a wide society and contribute to the overall societal goals. It provides information on the past and provides opportunities for relationships throughout the community. In addition, his 1883 work “Division of Labor in Society” demonstrated the people in a society form interests and awareness of skills through educational experiences, allowing division of labor roles for overall societal functioning (Jones 1986).
Émile Durkheim’s experiences with religion throughout childhood shaped a larger understanding and belief in religion itself. In one of his most important works, “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life”, Durkheim explains his theory on religion. He specifically defines religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things… beliefs and practices that unite its adherents in a single moral community called a church” (Durkheim 1961). Specifically, the book on centers on the Australian aborigines and represents religion as a product of their society. This work, along with countless others, continuously influences anthropological beliefs today. Durkheim’s belief that social factors create religion suggests anthropologists should study religion as a function in society, rather than the existence of a higher power. The propositions made throughout his career were often coupled with criticism. Durkheim presented God as a figment of imagination, developed by the society themselves. Anthropologists today consider religion as a function of society and implement these ideas when studying religions across the globe.
Learn More
Information on Durkheim’s anomie theory: http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Durkheim1.htm
Thorough discussion of Durkheim’s most important works and theories including criticism received: https://literariness.org/2017/05/10/the-sociology-of-Émile-durkheim/
The influence of Karl Marx on Durkheim, including their agreements and controversy: https://www.uhclthesignal.com/wordpress/2016/12/12/emilie-durkheim-karl-marx-and-the-origins-of-sociology-a-brief-glimpse/
Works Cited
Durkheim, Émile. 1961. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Collier Books.
Jones, Robert Alun. 1986. Émile Durkheim: An Introduction to Four Major Works. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
https://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Biography.html
Thompson, Karl. 2017. Durkheim’s Perspective on Education. ReviseSociology.
https://revisesociology.com/2017/08/22/functionalist-durkheim-role-education/