Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Intro

• The founder of "empirical, positivist" research in sociology
• Wrote "The Rules of Sociological Method" (1895)

Historical Context

• Technological progress
• Industrial revolution
• Confidence in the promise of science

Main Ideas

• Sociology should be modelled after the natural sciences
• Knowledge should be based on empirical observation of "social facts"- Ocurring events or phenomena involving human beings which are observable and measurable
• Social facts are used to create general laws about the world 
• Social facts can include roles, values, laws,…