Emile Durkheim Quotes
Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist and philosopher and one of the founders of the modern discipline of sociology. His Rules of Sociological Method established the autonomy of social facts as a domain of inquiry irreducible to individual psychology, while The Division of Labor in Society, Suicide, and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life developed wide-ranging analyses of solidarity, anomie, and the social origins of religion. The quotes below are attributed to Emile Durkheim, organized by topic.
Emile Durkheim on God
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“Religion is the system of symbols by means of which society becomes conscious of itself.”
Emile Durkheim on Justice
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“When mores are sufficient, laws are unnecessary; when mores are insufficient, laws are unenforceable.”
Emile Durkheim on Mind
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“Anomie is a state of normlessness, in which the individual is left without a moral compass.”
Emile Durkheim on Politics
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“Society is not a mere sum of individuals; rather, the system formed by their association represents a specific reality which has its own characteristics.”
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“Man cannot become attached to higher aims and submit to a rule if he sees nothing above him to which he belongs.”
Emile Durkheim on Virtue
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Attributed to Emile Durkheim:
“It is from public opinion that the moral order receives its sanction.”