SOC231H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Southern Sociological Society, Social Fact, Double Consciousness
Document Summary
Rather than look at society as based on individual psychology, durkheim argued that society exercises pressure on individual consciousness. He starts his discussion on the sociological method with the concept of social facts. These social facts are external to individuals and affect how they act. They are external because people don"t become aware of them until they are educated or socialized into them. Examples of social facts are the religions that people believe in, the languages they speak, and the system of currency they use. All of these examples function independently of the individuals who live within a society at a particular time. They are not biological or psychological phenomenon; they are outside individual consciousness and as such durkheim discusses them as social phenomenon. Social life is imbued with values which can be scientifically studied through a phenomenal reality that expresses these values. Social phenomenon can be therefore studied objectively because individuals cannot alter them.
