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Title: Elementary Forms Of The Religious Life : Newly Translated By Karen E. Fields by Emile Durkheim ISBN: 0-02-907937-3 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A precursor to scientific sociology
Comment: Durkheim was not as scientific (or as sociological, or even as valid) as he might have been, but that matters little. He helped start the discipline, and the rest of us have had a century to make advances. This is where to see it just beginning to take form.
Rating: 3
Summary: A classic, but outdated and poor methodology used.
Comment: If you are interested in classic sociological theory, you must read Durkheim...but always with the understanding that we have come a long way since 1912. The fundamental assumption upon which Durkheim's work is based, that aboriginal practices are religion at its most basic and primitive, is no longer accepted as necessarily true. And it definitely cannot be assumed that practices that can be observed today mirror practices from centuries ago, as it is the nature of social practices to adopt with fluidity to changing times and cultures. It is important to recognize Durkheim's role in beginning the dialogue, but it is also important to see the flaws in his work.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Elements of Religious Life - Durkheim
Comment: This book is a sociological text written by Durkheim. One of the forefathers of Sociology, he believed that to study sociology you must identify social phenomena and then trace it to its origins to see how it came about. This for Durkheim was the only way to understand society.
In this book he examines the origins of religion. He explains that religion develops from the collective feelings of security we gain from living in a group, and these feelings are very powerful and important to us. However, early tribes passed these feelings onto which ever object they were close to at the time of experiencing the emotions, or the most frequent object in their area. The object could include a plant, vegetable or an animal, which would then be represented in a carving of stone or wood and then worshipped. This for Durkheim is the beginning of totemism, the first religion.
He follows on to discuss how our first religion gave us an understanding of the world around us, our conception of space and time. For Durkheim 'the framework of our intelligence' is made up of the concepts of space, time, numbers and our existence, and they were born 'in religion'.
Durkheim's writing is suprisingly easy to read and very enjoyable. His examination of early societies gives much insight into their lives and how they understood the world to be. For anybody studying Durkheim, this book is a good topic area to concentrate on. However, for anybody interested in theology or in early societies, it is a fascinating read. I read this book as part of my degree course and, although I borrowed it from the library, even after my course has ended I am now buying my own copy to reread.
I recommend this book to a wide range of readers, not only those interested in sociology. Read it, you'll be suprised!
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Title: The DIVISION OF LABOR IN SOCIETY by Emile Durkheim, Lewis A. Coser ISBN: 0684836386 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Routledge Classics) by Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Anthony Giddens ISBN: 041525406X Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 23 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Sociology of Religion by Max Weber, Ephraim Fischoff ISBN: 0807042056 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1993 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: Discipline & Punish : The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault ISBN: 0679752552 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 25 April, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Suicide: A Study in Sociology by Emile Durkheim ISBN: 0684836327 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: February, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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