Development of Sociology

Everest Leo

Mr. Roddy

IHSS

11 October 2020

Development of Sociology (Max Weber & Emile Durkheim)

     Max Weber was a German sociologist who started out by analyzing the motives behind human actions. It wasn't totally unexpected the he became some sort of sociologist for the fact that a few of his relatives were sociologist already and his father, a liberal politician. He wrote a thorough analysis of some of Germany's agrarian problems, and among other things, some essays on the German stock exchange, but most of this early work was political. Weber's most well known and his most controversial work is The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and for a reason. In that piece he goes over correlation between capitalist ventures in Germany and Protestantism, attributing the creation of the spirit of capitalism to certain religious groups. He explains that groups such as the Calvinists and others, because they believe in predestination and want to look for clues of their spiritual success, value money and material achievements. This work also challenged Karl Marx's theories and the role religion plays in society/economic systems. The loop in the capitalist cycle, once protestant groups established it, is now unbreakable because it is very useful for the modern economy Weber states. Although he did say that protestant groups weren't the sole reason capitalism came to be, it still helps us understand origins of economic systems how they can develop and the role religion has in topics like these.


    Emile Durkheim was a French social scientist who, among his other work, studied different groups of people through the works of other anthropologists. He believed that primitive societies (with undifferentiated labor) showed mechanical solidarity while modern societies (increased specialization) showed organic solidarity. His most famous work, Suicide looked at reasons for suicide and saw that the closer and more integrated an individual was in their society the less likely they were to commit suicide. This being a big factor in suicide shows us that societal forces have a huge impact on ones own individual decisions, whether it is suicide or what clothes to buy. Durkheim later became more interested in education and religion, seeing as they are the most prominent means of adapting to change in society. This led him to become a part of numerous committees that would change curriculums to "enliven" the teaching of philosophy. The change of education in itself could've changed sociology, but transitioning it into more of a science is an everlasting effect.

 

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Weber-German-sociologist/Later-works

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Durkheim/Fame-and-the-effect-of-the-Dreyfus-affair

https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/protestantethic/summary/

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