2. Durkheim and
the Methods of
Scientific
Sociology
Warren Schmaus

Emile Durkheim
French sociologist
Principal architects of modern
social science

1. Methods of Inquiry
-pertains to how did Durkheim analyzed empirical
data and used it to support his theories
- endorses eliminative induction: one starts by making a
number of observations of some phenomenon that we want to find the
cause for.
* enumerative induction, where we take every new observation of a candidate cause as strengthening the
conclusion that it is the true cause. After many observations, one of the candidates is supposed to be much more
likely to be the cause, and justify the conclusion that this is the true cause..

Methods of Inquiry
- Durkheim validates what Bacon called as “ decisive or crucial facts”
- Durkheim’s methods of hypothesis and test however is not the current
concept of the hypothetico-deductive method
- Durkheim thought that one could not perform experiments in sociology.
- The concomitant variation, a method of Mills, was used by him for
testing causal relationship, emphasizing that the presence of a
concomitant will not alone prove a causal relationship, instead a series
of concomitant variations for comparison is best

2. Methods of Persuasion
-this shows how Durkheim argued that his
theories are superior to alternative theories in
the field

Methods of Persuasion
-by employing the comparative theory evaluation, rival theories are rejected not only
because they contradict existing facts but when they say nothing at all about them
-they are rejected from generating unsolved problems that Durkheim’s theory does
not
Ex: In Suicide, he rejected the hypothesis that suicide rate varies with race because of
the ambiguity of the concept of race ; or the insanity hypothesis for not being falsifiable
-He also rejected explanation using the ad-hoc hypothesis
Ex: Albert Einstein's addition of the cosmological constant to general relativity in order
to allow a static universe was ad hoc

Methods of explanation
- those by which he accounted for such social phenomena
- he combines explaining the meaning of a concept with explaining a
fact by placing it under a comprehensive case
-There is though ambiguity in his method of explanation concerning
causes and functions. Despite his warnings in The Rules, not to
confuse causal with functional explanations, he is also guilty of such.
For instance, he made a clear distinction between normal and
pathological cases

-Durkheim is clear about distinguishing functional
explanations from explanations in terms of intentions,
goals, or purposes.
-Sociology for him is an autonomous science… as SOCIAL
PHENOMENA SUCH AS SUICIDE AND HOMECIDE RATES
ARE NOT REDUCIBLE TO INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY)

Professed Methodology
-what is Durkheim’s actual working methods in his
empirical studies
- He presented the results of his works not necessarily in the
temporal order in which he arrived at them or the logical
order in which he derived them

(The third set of distinction is )
Meanings of terms
Durkheim being educated as a philosopher, used
philosophical terms in his sociological works. These
terms often had different meanings in French
philosophy during his lifetime than the meanings
they have taken on in more recent social sciences.

In summary:
❖ These distinctions showed that Durkheim’s
substantive works deviated from his expressed
methodology.
❖ On criticisms on his opponents’ theories

Contribution to Social Science
Emile Durkheim most valuable contribution was his defense of a
holist or collectivist alternative to methodological
individualism in the social sciences.
He demonstrated that there is a distinct class of social
phenomena that cannot be completely explained in terms of
individual behavior.

● Durkheim through social facts, observation, verification
in sociology and statistical analysis distinguished
sociology from philosophy through vivid scientific
methods of inquiry still used in this day.
● Durkheim also gave valuable advice about avoiding
common- sense terms and concepts. That is, to really
understand social phenomena such as suicide or
religion, we must step back from our ordinary notions of
these things, which may simply reflect cultural and
other biases.

● He discovered the process by which individuals
socially integrate into society and developed
various models to describe the interaction between
people and society.
● Durkheim's work is highly valuable, useful, and
applicable to sociologists. Emile Durkheim made
important contributions to sociology and dedicated
himself to the scientific study of sociology.

● Despite covering a wide variety of subjects, Durkheim's
writings show a single, concentrated, organizing view of
sociology's subject matter and objectives.
● His works contain many classics that have remained
fundamental to the discipline of sociology, both through
teaching and successive reinterpretations through which
developments continue to arise through conflict with
Durkheim's theories.

Thank you