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Emile Durkheim
“Emile Durkheim was the first French academic sociologist. His life was dominated throughout by his academic career, even though he was intensely and passionately involved in the affairs of French society at large.”1 Emile Durkheim was born in eastern France on April 15, 1858. Durkheim’s father was a rabbi and had come from a long family line of rabbis, so Durkheim at an early age had decided to become a rabbi as well. While he studied in his regular school, Durkheim also studied the Old Testament as well as Hebrew. Durkheim attended the College d’Epinal where he was considered a great student and was given a variety of honors and prizes. As Durkheim became more enticed about gaining knowledge he decided to transfer to the Lycee Louis-le-Grand which is located in Paris. Once he was settled he began preparing himself for the rigorous examinations that he would have to complete in order to be admitted into the Ecole Normale Superieure. Durkheim would make two attempts before he would ultimately be accepted into this very prestige school in 1879.
After Durkheim was admitted into Ecole Normale he seemed to be dissatisfied with the way in which his course studies were going. “Durkheim decided that he would dedicate himself to the scientific study of society. What he considered imperative was to construct a scientific sociological system, not as an end in itself, but as a means for the moral direction of society. From this purpose Durkheim never parted. However, since sociology was not a subject of instruction either at the secondary schools or at the university, Durkheim embarked upon a career as a teacher in philosophy. From 1882 to 1887 he taught in a number of provincial Lycees in the neighborhood of Paris--except for one year when he received a leave of absence for further study at Paris and in Germany.”2 While Durkheim was in Germany he concentrated on methods of instruction and research in moral philosophy as well as the social...