Question

Discuss the main contributions made to sociology by emile durkheim and karl marx.

Answer 1

Answer:

Emile Durkheim’s major contribution to society was his thinking about how society is held together.  Earlier thinkers had realized that there had to be something holding society together, but Durkheim was the first to study this phenomenon carefully.  Durkheim argued that there were two different kinds of solidarity among people in a society.  The first type of solidarity appeared in more traditional societies.  In these societies, all of the people are of the same ethnic group, the same religion, and the same culture.  They are all similar to one another and that similarity holds them together as a society.  Durkheim called this “mechanical solidarity.”  In more modern societies, however, very different kinds of people are thrown together and expected to live together.  It is not at all clear what holds them together when they are so different.  Durkheim says that “organic solidarity” holds them together.  By this, he means that people need each other in an economic sense.  They depend on one another to keep their economy functioning.  This binds them together even though they do not hold all of their values in common.  This idea was Durkheim’s main contribution to sociology, but it was not his only one.  He also pioneered the use of statistics in sociology and he argued that society is a moral entity, not just a group of human beings acting in their rational self-interest.  All of these are important contributions to sociology.

Answer 2

Answer:

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