O social fact it is the social and cultural instrument that determines the way to act, think and feel in an individual's life.
This definition was formulated by one of the founders of sociology, the Frenchman Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).
For Durkheim, the social fact is the set of rules and traditions that are at the center of a society. Thus, the social fact forces the human being to adapt to social rules.
Examples of social facts are the norms of coexistence, values and conventions that exist independently of the individual's will and existence, as explained by Durkheim.
Characteristics of the Social Fact
According to Durkheim, the social fact is in the individual's perception. Therefore, human behavior will be conditioned by social realities that limit the attitudes accepted by society.
The social fact must meet three characteristics: generality, exteriority and coerciveness.
Generality
Social facts affect the entire society and, therefore, are collective and not individual. In this way we say that social facts happen to the majority and reach everyone in general.
Example: in a football game, fans sing encouraging their team, wear their team's uniform and scream when the goal is scored. All these actions are expected and do not need to be explained in advance, as they are already part of a sporting event.
Exteriority
Social facts are external to the individual, that is, they exist before he is born and also happen independently of individual action.
Example: taking the football game again. If an individual wanted to stop fans from screaming a goal, when his team scored, he would hardly succeed or his behavior would be seen as odd. After all, fans of a team are expected to celebrate a goal in this way.
coercivity
Coercivity is used with two meanings by the French sociologist.
First, coerciveness is related to the power that the cultural standards of a society are imposed on its members.
This characteristic forces individuals to comply with cultural and social standards that are not always in agreement, but which are conventions and exist regardless of whether the individual agrees with them or not.
The second meaning of the word coerciveness is used to describe the power that the law exerts in an individual's life. In this way, the human being may not agree with the way society works, but accept it, for fear of being punished by the law.
In cultural coerciveness, human beings can be embarrassed or embarrassed if they do not comply with social behavior related to the social fact in which they are inserted.
The coercive nature of the law is punitive, in the sense that the individual may suffer fines and deprivation of liberty.
Examples of Social Fact
Social facts are simple everyday behaviors such as taking a shower, paying taxes, going to social gatherings or shopping.
We all know that we must bathe daily in order to keep our bodies clean, to avoid diseases and bad smells. Likewise, we need to pay taxes so that the government can keep social services running.
All these actions are organized and follow a routine, are respected and have real power over the individual. The social fact, according to Durkheim, affects the entire society.
Another classic example of social fact that was studied in depth by Durkheim is education, as it is present in the individual's life since childhood and will affect him throughout his career, shaping his behavior Social.
Durkheim defined the school and its influence in these terms:
"The individual will only be able to act insofar as he learns to know the context in which he is inserted, to know what his origins are and the conditions on which he depends. And he won't be able to know it without going to school, starting by observing the raw material that is represented there. "
Emile Durkheim
Frenchman Émile Durkheim is considered the father of sociology. He was born on April 15, 1858, in Épinal, and died on November 15, 1917, in Paris. His studies allowed sociology to be classified as a science.
Born into a traditional Jewish family, with his father, grandfather and great-grandfather rabbis, Durkheim decided not to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. He left the Jewish school, where he went very early, and wanted to study religion from an agnostic point of view.
In 1879, Durkheim entered the École Normale Superieur and there he demonstrated a scientific interest in sociology, but the field did not yet exist as an autonomous discipline in the universities.
He turned to psychology, philosophy and ethics and, from his studies, helped to reform the French education system.
His first work and one of the most important in sociology was published in 1893, "Division of Labor in Society". In this book, he introduces the concept of anomie, a term used to describe the weakness of social institutions.
Phrases about Social Fact
- "A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exerting an external coercion on the individual; or else, that it is general in the extension of a given society, presenting its own existence, independent of the individual manifestations it may have."
- "The construction of the social being, made in large part by education, is the assimilation by the individual of a series of norms and principles - whether moral, religious, ethical or behavioral - that guide the conduct of the individual in a group. Man, more than forming society, is a product of it."
read more
- What is Sociology?~
- Mechanical and Organic Solidarity
- Social Division of Labor
- Social Institutions
- Max Weber
Bibliographic references
DURÁN, Maria de los Ángeles - Notions of Sociology. Euramerica: Madrid. 1968.
Sociology - Émile Durkheim. The School of Life. Consulted on 09/11/2020.
