Sociological theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociological theory - Essay ExampleHis book - Suicide In the preface of suicide Durkheim says, There can be no sociology unless societies exist, and societies cannot exist if there are only souls. In this quotation and throughout his book Durkheim insists that order constitute a reality in itself, and could never be reduced to individuals. The proper focus of sociology was not the individual, but social facts which for Durkheim deal with attributes of party, not of individuals. Durkheim argued that if acts ilk suicide were purely individual in nature, they would fluctuate wildly from year to year. Social facts in contrast would be far less likely to divulge such wide fluctuations, because societies seldom change that rapidly. Durkheims famous study of suicide took suicide rates as a dependent variable. Durkheim argued that two central variables--social consolidation and normative regulation--were independent variables that explained variation in suicide rates. He said that indi viduality can prosper only in a free society that promotes voluntary bonds between its members. In Le Suicide Durkheim argues that collective social forces hold the upper hand for suicide than extra social or individual causes. In this book Durkheim argues that suicide is something which primarily results from a lack of integration of the individual into society, and it provides an incredibly detailed and complex understanding of the impetus for suicide as well as on it psychological and physical impact not only on the victim but also on their family and society in general.Erving Goffman June 11, 1922 November 19, 1982), was a sociologist and writer. The 73rd president of American Sociological Association, Goffmans greatest contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical situation that began with his 1959 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life and was developed throughout his life. Goffman became one of the most