45 pages 1 hour read

Émile Durkheim

The Division of Labor in Society

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1893

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Index of Terms

Civil (Restitutive) Law

Restitutive law is mainly concerned with restoring the status quo after a rule has been violated. It is not intended only to punish the criminal. Civil law is extended and specialized through the process of the division of labor. It is the result of society and intra-personal relationships becoming more complex in “advanced” civilizations.

Collective (Common) Consciousness

The collective consciousness is defined as the totality of shared beliefs among a society. It is maintained by penal law: Anyone that deviates from it or infringes upon it may be punished. It is characteristic of “earlier” societies because it binds people through reinforcing their similarities. It must recede in order for the division of labor to progress.

Division of Labor

The division of labor is a process of specialization that permeates all aspects of social life in “advanced” civilizations. Economically, it transforms traditional methods of production into industries by dividing tasks. Socially, it divides the work performed by different professions or by sex. And biologically, it approximates the evolutionary process through which an organism becomes increasingly complex by delegating specific tasks to different organs who all work in solidarity to keep the organism alive. Durkheim argues that the division of labor is a moral endeavor and a natural process of evolution.

Related Titles

By Émile Durkheim

Study Guide

logo

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Émile Durkheim

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

Émile Durkheim