Artikel

Durkheims manifest van de sociologie

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Abstract

Durkheim's manifest on sociology - During his career as a scientist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) exerted himself more than once to give a succinct exposition of sociology, its historical antecedents, its points of view and methods. Between 1886 and 1915 almost ten such expositions appeared in divergent forms : a review, an inaugural address, a memoir, an inventory, an occasional statement, an article in a periodical, a contribution to a collection of articles. Most of these writings are relatively short because Durkheim tried to make his expositions of the nature of sociology as concise and convincing as possible. When Durkheim was 29 years old he was appointed as professor at the University of Bordeaux. He used his first lecture to offer an exposition such as described above, specifically addressed to an academic audience. Our article is therefore dedicated to Durkheim’s ’leçon d’ouverture’ of his ’cours de science sociale’ of 1887. This lecture offers an insight into a vital and decisive position on the subject of sociology and at the same time gives a clear view of the starting points of his own future scientific work. After a short introduction, Durkheim’s address is divided and summarized in the light of four viewpoints : philosophy and sociology, the definition of sociology as a science, sociology and policy, collectivism and individualism. The article concludes with a detailed and interpretative assessment in retrospect.

How to Cite:

Goddijn, H., (1991) “Durkheims manifest van de sociologie”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 36(4), 323–345. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95087