Transcript Emile Durkheim

Infonomics
U. Matzat
Sociology
School of Innovation Sciences
TU/e
email: [email protected]
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I. Cohesion and suicide:
Emile Durkheim
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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917, French)
one of the founding fathers of sociology
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Emile Durkheim
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1896 professor of sociology at Bordeaux University
(later Paris)
books:
 De la Division du Travail Social (1893)
 Le Suicide (1897)
 Les Règles de la Méthode Sociologique (1895)
Background: the French society in the 19th century after
the French revolution: detachement (NL-“onthechting”)
and the decay of community (which is sort of what you
hear in the newspapers about our current era …)
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Theoretical and methodological propositions
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Today: just the theoretical propositions
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Cohesion: Emile Durkheim
Two versions of the question
how it is possible that people live together peacefully?
Cohesion
Battle
Detachment
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Violence to others
Violence to self
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Cohesion on the Internet?
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Does something like a “community” exist online?
Can engineers program “community” online? Can
they facilitate the emerge of “community” online?
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Emile Durkheim:
the core of structural functionalism
• a every society has a certain level of cohesion
• b as far as it consists of intermediary groups (has some
kind of structure)
• c and shares certain norms and values,
• d and when members of a society are more tightly
integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance to
these norms and values,
• e which will then result in increased cohesion.
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The first application of this integration
theory
•A: A strong cohesion is indicated through a low suicide rate;
•B: families, religious communities, and political parties are
examples of intermediary groups;
•C: one of the norms is that one should not commit suicide, a
norm that is supported in (almost) all societies;
•D: and when people are more tightly integrated in families,
religious communities, and political parties, they are more
likely to follow the norm,
•E: and hence their probability to commit suicide is smaller.
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The integration theory as applied to
suicide
(2) The more people are integrated into religious communities,
the lower the probability of suicide
(3) At the end of the 19th century, catholics in Europe are more
tightly integrated than protestants
(1) Catholics (at the end of the 19th century in Europe) are less
likely to commit suicide (when compared to protestants)
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NOTE
In fact, this conclusion turned out to be correct. This
shows quite dramatically that even suicide is not
(only) a personal decision
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The theory of integration and suicide
(14)
The more the inhabitants of a society are integrated in any
whatsoever of its intermediary groupings, the lower their chances of
suicide.
(15)
A religious association is an intermediary grouping.
(2)
The more strongly persons are integrated in a religious
association, the lower their chances to commit suicide.
And:
(14)
The more the inhabitants of a society are integrated in any
whatsoever of its intermediary groupings, the lower their chances of
suicide.
(16)
A family is an intermediary grouping.
(7)
The more strongly persons are integrated in a family, the
lower are their chances to commit suicide.
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The theory of integration and suicide
(7) The more strongly persons are integrated in a family, the
lower are their chances to commit suicide.
(9) Married persons with children are more strongly integrated in
a family than married persons without children.
(10) Married persons with children display a lower suicide rate
than married persons without children.
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Integration with the help of ICT:
Community Online ?
2 divergent views on online communities:
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dystopian view: fake community
 online relations have different quality than face to
face relations: weak vs. strong tie (see Granovetter
1972)
 online relations are unstable
 online relations do not have multiplexity
 online communities do not have geographical
boundaries
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Community Online
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utopian view: online community as
'real' community
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many opportunities to connect with people of similar
interests
freeing people from geographical constraints
increasing connectedness with distant friends,
family members, etc.
strong attachment to online communities found
strong norms, reciprocity, trust
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Community Online
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'social' online community vs. other online
communities
social online community
 common norms, goals, identity
 attachment
 trust
forget about the most common element of all
definitions of 'community': geographical proximity
social online communities do exist, but not as the
'regular' outcome of online interaction in groups
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Community Online
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question: under what conditions do
you get a social community?
answer: common norms, goals, identity, attachment,
trust
question: how to achieve common norms, identity, ...?
answer: problem of online discussion contribution,
community members have to become active!
see OGO assignment 2
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Emile Durkheim: the theory of “Anomie”
anomie:
The existence of norms and values that make the people’s
goals not fit with their available resources and means
or
a mismatch between personal or group standards and
wider social standards
Example: “US – anybody can become a millionaire”
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The theory of “Anomie”
again: The core of structural functionalism
a … cohesion…,
b …. groups ..
c …shared values and norms..
d and when members of a society are more tightly
integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance
to these norms and values,
e which will then result in increased cohesion.
Another specification d: The more the norms and values of a
society increase the fit of the desired goals with the
available means, the more people follow the rule not to
commit suicide.
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The theory of “Anomie”
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anomie: lack of norms and values that ensure a fit
between desired goals and available means of humans
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Under which condition does the fit change?
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Extension of free markets (economic anomie)
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economic crisis, but also strong and fast economic
growth (economic anomie)
Legal facilitation of divorce (domestic anomie)
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Emile Durkheim: the theorie of anomie
Old insights applied to new technology
Can technologies influence the match between goals and
resources to reach those goals?
•Anomie and use of online dating communities?
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Changes in the plain core of the
structural functionalism:
integration and cohesion
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a ... cohesion...,
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b ... groups...,
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c ...sharing of norms;
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d and when members of a society are more tightly
integrated, they are more likely to behave in accordance to
these norms and values,
e if the different groups share the same norms this leads to
increasing cohesion in society; if the different groups follow
diverging norms this leads to decreasing cohesion in society.
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II. Different traditions and
the Micro-Macro-Problem
Sociology
Macro-level: societies
Micro-level: humans
Social media research
Macro-level: communities/groups
Micro-level: members
If we want to enhance/explain societies (communities
in social media) why do we deal with theories about
humans (members)?
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Sociology as an autonomous scientific discipline –
own approach of theory formulation
a: individualist theory: a theory that puts forward
propositions about causal regularities of human behavior
under (specific) social conditions; the behavior has
consequences for specific macro-phenomena
b: collectivistisch
theorie: een theorie die uitspraken
doet
social conditions
social phenomena
over regelmatigheden en causale samenhangen tussen
bepaalde macro-verschijnsel zonder dat de theorie
betrekking heeft over het gedrag van individuen
in geval b zou de sociologie zeker een “eigen” theorie hebben
omdat theorieën over menselijk gedrag (geval a) ook in de
economie of psychologie te vinden zijn
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Sociology as an autonomous scientific discipline –
own approach of theory formulation
b: collectivist theory: a theory making statements about
regularities and associations between specific macrophenomena without taking into account human behavior
social
conditions
sociale
condities
social phenomena
B: under condition b sociologists definitely would have their
own theory ; under condition a the situation is less clear
(theories about human behavior can be found in psychology
and economics as well)
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Collectivist hypotheses- an example
R. Michels (1911): The Iron Law of Oligarchy
•collectivist hypothesis: The longer an organization exists,
the more oligarchic it will be.
•this hypothesis doesn’t make any assumptions about
human behavior
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Collectivist hypotheses- an example
Online communities with a reputation system have a
more active membership than online communities
without a reputation system.
?!
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Questions on individualist and collectivist
theories
•The fundamental questions of sociology examine
characteristics of societies, and not characteristics of
individuals: cohesion, inequality, rationalisation are
chracteristics of societies
•The most important phenomena to be explained by
sociologists thus are macro-phenomena and not microphenomena
•Also for explanatory conditions the sociologist first looks at
social conditions (=macro-conditions)
•But: what does this imply for the for the (explanatory)
theory that the sociologist uses?
•Are the theories exclusively about macro-phenomena
(=collectivist theories) or are explanations that do not take
into account individual behavior less satisfying?
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Why Micro-hypotheses?
1.) the predictions of macro-hypotheses often do not find
enough empirical evidence – often exceptions do exist
•With the help of micro-hypotheses we can clarify under
which conditions the marco-hypothesis is true and under
which conditions not
2.) macro-hypotheses often leave open what causal
mechanism leads to a specific relationship between macrophenomena
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Why Micro-hypotheses: an example
•Macro-hypothesis (in the time of World War I, in the U.S. South
with its racial conflicts): “The higher the percentage of black
people in an area the higher is the number of murders."
percentage blacks
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number of murders
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Why Micro-hypotheses: an example
•this macro-hypothesis leaves open what the cause of the
relationship is – there are two potential mechanisms at the
micro-level that lead to the same macro-relationship
•a: “on average black people tend to commit more often
murders than white people"
•b: “The more opportunities there are for white people to lynch
black people, the higher the chance that they will lynch black
people."
percentage
blacks who stays at the macro-level, number
murders
•a
sociologist
staysofat
the surface
and does not offer valid explanations that clarify what the
causal mechanisms are.
A: “on average black people tend to commit more often murders than white people”
B: “The more opportunities there are for white people to lynch black people, the higher the
chance that they will lynch black people”
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Proposal for finding solutions to sociological
problems
(rules of theory development)
•Deeper (read: more general) explanations of macrophenomena through reduction of macro-hypotheses to microhypotheses (and additional conditions)
•Sometimes correction of macro-hypotheses: the macrohypothesis will be made more precise by indicating under
which condition the macro-hypothesis is true, and under
which condition not
•When formulating questions about characteristics of a
society: take into account the behavior of individuals which
determines the characteristics of the society
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rules for finding solutions to sociological problems
•Sociologists analyze how social conditions influence behavior
and how behavior translates into macro phenomena
•thus: translate appearently inherent characteristics of individuals
(e.g., religious belief) to relational characteristics (membership in
a more or less integrated group)
•thus: transform appearently global characteristics of societies
(e.g., the progress of technology in a country) to a combination
of characteristics of its members (e.g., percentage of
households with internet connections)
•U.S. sociologist James S. Coleman elaborated the rules in more
detail
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Utilitarian individualism
•School of thought within sociology that belongs to the socalled methodological individualism (use of individualist
theories)
•Different theories within utilitarian individualism: learning
theories in psychology, theories about goald-directed
behavior within economics etc.
•Within sociology these theories are utilized to explain
macro-level phenomena
•the theories are grounded in the ideas of Hobbes and the
Scotish Moral Philosophers
•Behavior as a strive for utility (NL: nut, lat.: utilitas)
•The most popular theory utilizes asssumptions of goalddirected human behavior (rational-choice-theory)
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The plain core of the theory of rational
choice
a
Each feature of every society is the outcome of certain acts
performed by its inhabitants under certain circumstances;
b
these individuals have specific goals,
c
they have a particular but always limited amount of means,
d
and these individuals employ their means in such a way that
they approach their goals as closely as possible (they choose the act
which maximizes their utility);
e: the circumstances under which people act, affect the extent to which
the chosen acts are efficient means for reaching their goals,
f: and under some circumstances the acts do not only have intended
consequences, but as unintended consequence affect as well how easy
or difficult it is for others to reach their goals.
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utilitarian individualism
(version rational choice theory)
•Independent of the own methodological proposals of the
classicists and the founding fathers of sociology (e.g.
Durkheim), many of their proposals/hypotheses can be
understood as specifications of the core of rational choice
theory
•These specifications emphasize different aspects of the core
•Different specifications may lead to contradictory hypotheses;
empirical tests have to show which specification finds evidence
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Money as the only goal?
•Utilitarian individualism stems from economics
•Economists emphasize the behavior of humans on markets
as influenced by material incentives
•sociological applications emphasize in addition other human
goals
•Various forms of social appreciation as important goal:
affection, status, behavioral confirmation etc
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Utility maximization only on
markets?
•Utilitarian individualism stems from economics
•Economists emphasize the behavior of humans on markets
as influenced by material incentives
•sociological applications emphasize in addition other
structures
•Markets, organisations, groups and communities (on the
internet in social media!)
•analyses with the help of the same theory
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Social media and macro-hypotheses
Online communities with a reputation system have a
more active membership than online communities
without a reputation system.
Is this true?
See OGO assignment 2
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To do’s
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Read Ultee et al. (2003), chapter 12
Read Boudon, Coleman and Lave &
March in the reader with the help of the
reading guide
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