Thorough and wide-ranging examination of the science of morals, reviving and defending the tradition of a scientific approach to ethics. Engages with recent debates on modernism and morality, demonstrating the contemporary relevance of Durkheim's ideas. This book is intended for social and political theory, philosophy of science and Durkheimian studies within sociology, philosophy and politics.

The famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim is universally recognised as one of the founding fathers of sociology as an academic discipline. He wrote on the division of labour, methodology, suicide and education, but his most prolific and influential works were his writings on religion, which culminated in his controversial book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Although his influence continued long after his death in 1917, this is the first book to provide a detailed look at the whole of his work in the field of religion. Durkheim on Religion is a selection of readings from Durkheim's writings on religion, presented in order of original publication, ranging from early reviews to articles and extracts from his books. Also included are detailed bibliographies and abstracts together with contributions by such writers as Van Gennep, Goldenweiser and Stanner. This book will be invaluable to those studying sociology and anthropology, but will also be of interest to those studying the history or philosophy of religion, as well as to anyone with an interest in Durkheim.

This volume focuses on three closely-connected aspects of Émile Durkheim's work: his sociology of justice, his sociology of morality and his political sociology. These areas of his thought are the most relevant and practical today in considering fundamental problems of contemporary societies and they provide many of the richest and most important insights of his social theory. Yet they are also relatively neglected and this volume collects together the most incisive recent periodical commentary on them. Within the justice-morality-politics triangle, Durkheim examines moral pluralism and the possibility of identifying a unifying value system for complex societies; the nature and conditions of democracy; the relations of the citizen, the state and corporate groups; criteria of justice and of effective economic regulation; and modern individualism with its associated ideas of human dignity and human rights. This tightly-integrated volume presents Durkheim's thought in an unusual and revealing light, showing him as a key social and political thinker for the twenty-first century.

Arguing against recent attempts to return to the virtue-centered perspective of ancient Greek ethics, these essays explore the problem of the relation between moral philosophy and modernity by studying the differences between ancient and modern ethics.

Durkheim's writins on politlcal theory and the nature of government have been among the most neglected of his contributions to modern social science. The editor, one of the first to argue the importance of Durkheim's political thought, has assembled the first English-language collection of that author's significant writings on politics, government, the nature and function of the state, socialism, and Marxism. The introductory essay provides a critical appraisal of Durkehim's political ideas and situates them within the framework of the author's general sociology and social philosophy. The selections are taken from a wide range of Durkheim's writings--books, lecture series, review articles--and almost all appear in new translations. Several of these works ahve been, up to this time, poorly rendered or unavailable in English.

This comprehensive volume ranges across the entire spectrum of contemporary sociological inquiry, as seen by Durkheim. It also includes secondary readings by social thinkers of today, connecting the classic writings of Durkheim to contemporary issues. Organizes Durkheim's writings thematically, in a comprehensive collection Includes selections from Durkheim's best-known writings as well as less widely-known texts that explore the themes of modern sociology Contains secondary readings by key contemporary social thinkers today Connects the classic writings of Durkheim to contemporary issues Includes a substantial editorial introduction by a leading Durkheim scholar

Thorough and wide-ranging examination of the science of morals, reviving and defending the tradition of a scientific approach to ethics. Engages with recent debates on modernism and morality, demonstrating the contemporary relevance of Durkheim's ideas. This book is intended for social and political theory, philosophy of science and Durkheimian studies within sociology, philosophy and politics.