What are
social facts? How do we recognise them?
What are social facts? How do we recognise them?
According
to Emile Durkheim, sociology is the study of social facts. Social
facts are things that are external to an individual and constrain
their behaviour. They are general in nature, which means that they
are collective representations of social behaviour of a group of
people. Social institutions like law, education and religion also
constitute social facts along with beliefs, feelings and collective
practices. In order to prove that sociology is based on social facts,
Durkheim carried out the study of ‘suicide’. According to
it, suicide is a personal choice that an individual commits, but the
average rate of suicide in society reflects social behaviour and is a
social fact. Hence social facts can be recognised through social
behaviour, and the aggregate patterns of social behaviour.
According to Emile Durkheim, sociology is the study of social facts. Social facts are things that are external to an individual and constrain their behaviour. They are general in nature, which means that they are collective representations of social behaviour of a group of people. Social institutions like law, education and religion also constitute social facts along with beliefs, feelings and collective practices. In order to prove that sociology is based on social facts, Durkheim carried out the study of ‘suicide’. According to it, suicide is a personal choice that an individual commits, but the average rate of suicide in society reflects social behaviour and is a social fact. Hence social facts can be recognised through social behaviour, and the aggregate patterns of social behaviour.
