Durkheim's sociology of moral fact

(I was quite lost at lecture of Durkheim 3, talking about religion origin and function etc. I found it hard to follow the argument,I don't see how Totems can be the origin of all religion?)


reading of Francois-Adnre Isambert

Durkheim's interest in morality makes him not only a sociologist of morality but a moralist as well. He tried his best to make morality a positive science.

1. Morality as obligation

According Wandt, whom Durkheim was closely affinity with, moral ends are conceived as obligatory. Moral facts derive their authority from entirely intelligible psychological source:

• the constraint, either external, for fear of punishment, or internal, interiorization of public opinion;


• motives of liberty, the satisfactions of doing good


• motives, only accessible to elite soul, by contemplation of moral ideal

Moral facts therefore, include 1)constraint, external or internal; 2) motives; 3) moral ideal.

Wandt's morality is of norms in which the justification of moral act, at the same time what causally determine its execution.

Durkheim: obligatory force as an order handed down to us by the divinity, it is in the name of God or as consists of a social discipline, in the name of society. He casted doubt upon the effectiveness of motives linking it to its ends, but he accepted Wandt's account of the motives of constraints in obligation, but concluded that the acceptance of moral ideal is a matter of faith.

Durkheim thinks that moral facts consist of rules of conduct, by virtue of their regularity, social habits, latter can change to rules. (most of social habits lack of the imperative character of rules)

Kant's hypothetical imperatives- rules which prescribe the means require to obtain a result, violation of the rules simply brings the whole enterprise to grief.

Durkheim wishes to provide an observable criterion, every moral offence provokes an intervention by society to prevent the deviation.

Therefore, Durkheim, "moral fact" consists of a rule of conduct to which sanction apply. The consequence of moral error can sometimes be predicated. The social reaction follows the offence with true necessity, however, this necessity is not that of an efficient cause operating in the world of pragmatic consequences of courses of action. "The withdrawal of the sanction is only possible when the rule itself disappears, it only occurs when one society changes to another."

2. Morality and law

Durkheim points out that "very often law cannot be separated from the morals (substratum), nor can morals be separated from the law which implements and determines them." Mutually determining relations force the sociologist to consider both together.

Legal sanctions are material, while moral sanctions are reprobative, but, moral sanction is administrated by each and everyone of society (diffuse), the legal sanction is by specialized established bodies.(organized)

Since the legal sanctions are easier to observe than moral sanction, it will be possible to use variation in law to infer the associated changes in morality. Durkheim's observation of "decline in repressive law to deduce a weakening of the morality" and "expansion of cooperative law stipulating the various different obligations of individuals and groups in division of labour"

3. The diversity of moral facts

Dual diversity:

1) Objects of moral facts- accommodate a conception of moral fact, according to which any moral rule proclaimed in a given society.
2) The moral rules governing a given society.

Durkheim thinks the moral regulation is sometime normal, sometimes abnormal.

The normal type is the average type within a given stage of the development of the organism under consideration of (any given society). He however is skeptically that "normal type will achieve the ultimate degree of perfection"

There are two side of morality: obligation and desirability

Notion of duty-> notion of moral -> notion of sacred

"The sacred being is the forbidden being, which one dare not violate, it is also good, loved and sought after". Therefore, Durkheim's two morality, one being a morality of obligation (out of duty) and the other desire (out of good),
It is impossible for people to act out of pure obligation means that moral goodness must be desirable. But there is an irreconcilable antagonism between duty and desire.

Moral facts "substratum" have two bases:
spirit of discipline - obedience to authority
attachment of groups - attractive power and collective ideal

Spirit of discipline, is respect for the rules and the authority. Individuals may exercise self-discipline, but it is the interiorization of force which makes them obey. This interiorizaiton is the chief aim of education.

Moral consensus has been maintained, secular morality enables members of society to remain in agreement. Social being, namely society, possesses all the characteristics of the individual, but dominates the individual.