‘Emile Durkheim argues that society has a reality

of its own, over and above the individual who

comprise it’. Elaborate

According to Durkheim, functionalist, society is

based on social facts. Social facts are belief systems,
customs and institutions e.g. education. They are chosen
by individuals and cannot be changed at will. A social fact
continues to exist because it is useful to society.

Members of society are constrained by ‘social

facts’, ‘by ways of acting, thinking and feeling, external to
the individual, and endowed with a power of coercion, by
reason of which they control him’. Belief and moral codes
are passed on from one generation to another and shared
by individuals who make up the society. Social facts help
maintain social order which is essential in a society.
Durkheim argues that there are two ways of explaining
social facts. One of them was from showing that suicide is
not just a product of individual psychology but also social
behaviour.

The social system has four basic fundamental

prerequisites for society to survive. These are adaptation
which means that social system must control the
environment to meet basic needs and adaptation to
systems, goal attainment which means that societies set a
particular goal and direct their behaviour toward that goal,
integration which is adjustment of conflict and pattern
maintenance (Latent) which is maintenance of basic
patterns of values institutionalised in society. Durkheim
believes that humans have two sides to their nature. One
is selfish because humans tend to look after their own
interests, which makes it difficult for individuals to be
integrated to society. The other is the ability to believe in
moral values.

According to Durkheim collective conscience

and social stability are achieved through consensus
consisting of common beliefs and sentiments. Without
this consensus social solidarity is impossible and humans
would not integrate with each other. If self-interest
dominates conflict and disorder would be the result
therefore mutual obligation should guide behaviour.
Collective conscience constrains individuals to act in terms
of the requirements of society. Collective conscience is a
social fact so it is external to the individual.

Durkheim knew that there was a possibility that

societies might not function according to the social facts.
This is proven by his studies on the division of labour
where egoism and anomie reduced the control that society
had over the individual. Although Durkheim saw this
dysfunction within the society, he believed that it wouldn’t
create unmanageable problems.