Transcript The Dualism of Human Nature and its Social Conditions. By

The Dualism of Human Nature
and its Social Conditions.
By Emile Durkheim
In order to understand Society we
must look at the individuals that
make it up .
Society ..... Produces us
 “The
Whole Produces
the Part”
 The
Macro (society)
produces the Micro
(individuals)
 To
understand the
Whole we must
understand the Part or
at least say that the
Whole (society)
produced the Part
(individuals)
Man is UNIQUE
 We
are civilised and
act for the greater
good (most of the
time)
 Whilst
employing
Historical Analysis
Durkheim noticed that
throughout the ages
there has been a
‘Constitutional Duality
of Human Nature’
Man is made of two radically
Heterogeneous Beings...............
 THE
BODY
 THE
SOUL
The Body and Soul are independent of each other,
however constantly in conflict.
Durkheim uses death to show this independence,
where the body is bound by its physicality to stay in
the material world whereas the soul can leave the
body as its abode is everywhere. (see Plato)
This Duality is only a particular
example of things being divided into
THE SACRED & THE PROFANE
 BODY
 SOUL
 PROFANE
 SACRED
Duality is at the very heart of our Inner
Life
Human Intelligence.
 Sensory



Activity
Egoistic
Unique to Individual
Cannot detach
sensation from
organism
 Conceptual


Thought
Can be Shared
‘Held in Common to a
plurality of men.’
These two states of consciousness contradict
each other. How can we belong to ourselves
and others at the same time?
The Problem: Society V’s Individual
We all have individual goals and our own
ways of getting them however at the
same time we are expected to commit to
society and conform to the norms and
expectations instilled in us by our
families at birth. It is biologically natural
for us to seek gratification for others
(society)
Two States of Conciousness
1
2
One merely expresses our organisms and
the objects around us, it is sensory and
we cannot separate ourselves from it .
The second originates from society and
surpasses, shapes and directs our
seemingly random ends
This continuous battle between the
individual and society is eased by
sacred activities like religious
worship which Durkheim says forms
a: Collective Consciousness
Summary
The Dualism of Haman nature is the
continuous battle between our needs
as individuals, who percieve things
on a very personal level and the
society that we live in which requires
us to act for the greater good oftern
at the expense of our own desires.