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ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION
Please post your answers (by replying to this post) to the questions at the end of the Instructor’s Comments before 11:59 PM Tuesday evening. The deadline to complete reading others’ posts and making your replies is 11:59 PM on Wednesday evening.
Discussion Questions
(1) Durkheim argued that there was a world of social phenomena (social facts) that could not simply be explained way as the end-result of individual psychology. His view was that social facts have their own existence (sui generis) and exert effects on other social facts, as well as on individuals. What do you think about his argument? Are there ways of thinking, acting, and feeling that exist outside of us as individuals, yet constrain us? Give some examples to support your view.
(2) What are some examples of mechanical and organic solidarity that you can draw from contemporary society? To what extent do you think it is possible for both kinds of solidarity to exist simultaneously in the same social group? Give examples to support your view.
(3) Which of the following would Durkheim consider a social fact: (1) the percentage of the U.S. adult population that has earned a college degree, (2) the percentage of the U.S. workforce that is unemployed and looking for work, and/or (3) the number of skyscraper buildings in a downtown metropolitan area? Please give a rationale to support your argument.
HOW TO WORK ON THIS ASSIGNMENT ( EXAMPLE ESSAY/ DRAFT)
(1) Durkheim’s argument about the existence of social facts outside of individuals and their effects on society is compelling. Social facts, such as cultural norms, values, and institutions, are not the result of any individual’s action, but rather exist independently and constrain our behavior. For example, gender roles in society are not the result of individual preferences, but rather the social fact that dictates how we should behave and what roles we should occupy based on our gender. The law is another example of a social fact that constrains individual behavior and is not the result of individual action.
(2) Mechanical solidarity is the form of social solidarity in which individuals are united by shared values and beliefs, and organic solidarity is the form of social solidarity in which individuals are united by their interdependence in a complex division of labor. Examples of mechanical solidarity can be found in religious communities where individuals share common beliefs and values, whereas organic solidarity is more common in urban societies where individuals are interconnected by their jobs and depend on one another to maintain the complex systems of the city. It is possible for both types of solidarity to exist simultaneously in the same social group, for example, in a workplace where individuals share common goals and values but also rely on each other for their work to function effectively.
(3) Durkheim would consider the percentage of the U.S. adult population that has earned a college degree and the percentage of the U.S. workforce that is unemployed and looking for work as social facts because they represent social phenomena that are external to individuals and constrain their behavior. The number of skyscraper buildings in a downtown metropolitan area, on the other hand, is not a social fact, as it does not have an impact on social life, norms, or behavior. It is simply a physical object and not a social phenomenon that constrains individual behavior or society as a whole.
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