The social fact in Durkheim’s late work: Structural hermeneutics, positive sociology, and causality

Paul Carls

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Émile Durkheim’s late work focuses on représentations collectives, social facts that embody sui generis social forces and that direct behaviour in meaningful ways. The focus on représentations collectives raises questions, but also opens doors for Durkheimian sociology. Many would contend that Durkheim’s focus on représentations collectives introduces a hermeneutical and ideational element that is at odds with his positivist approach. His study of représentations collectives also point to a potentially broad application of his method to the study of culture as a causally autonomous factor in social life. This article will discuss the social fact in Durkheim’s late work in light of these issues. It will argue that représentations collectives are social facts, ‘things’ in Durkheim’s terminology, that are rooted in ritual. They have an objective existence and are causally efficacious, which makes them the object of positive sociology; there is thus no tension between ‘early’ and ‘late’ Durkheim on this point. It will also argue that due to the causally autonomous and inherently meaningful nature of représentations collectives, Durkheim’s approach adds to the Strong Program’s research agenda, albeit with more of a focus on ritual and emotional energy. In so doing the article seeks to build a bridge between the Strong Program and the interaction ritual approach developed by Randall Collins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)222-246
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Classical Sociology
Volume22
Issue number2
Early online date18 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
I would like to thank Steven Lukes, Augustin Simard, Marcel Fournier, Laurence McFalls, and Charles Blattberg for their encouragement, helpful comments, and critical feedback that have all led to this article being as good as it is. I would also like to thank the peer reviewers for the journal whose comments have also substantially improved the article. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

Keywords

  • cultural sociology
  • emergence
  • Randall Collins
  • représentations collectives/collective representations
  • social realism
  • sociological method
  • Strong Program

Cite this