Émile Durkheim was a pioneer of sociology, and a deep observer of social life and how it was formed by culture and sentiment, as much as war and economics. He studied suicide, religion, and forms of collective and associative life. He gave birth to a defining concept of the 20th century, anomie - the sense of drifting, being disconnected, and living without a trusted, shared moral code.
Durkheim’s life was scarred by the tragedy of World War One, in which his son died for imperial glory. In his grief, his earlier optimism that civil society could substitute for the collective ethos of religious forms of life waned. In the early twentieth century, he wrote:
The former gods are growing old or dying, and others have not been born…. A day will come when our societies once again will know hours of creative effervescence during which new ideals will again spring forth and new formulas emerge to guide humanity for a time. (Émile Durkheim)
I continue my reflections on anomie, cultural renewal and Durkheim below the line for full subscribers.
If you are not ready to boost your subscription to the Burning Archive, there are other ways you can support my work to help us all live in tune with a changing world.
You can share and recommend the Burning Archive on the Substack network - including as a Note (Substack’s twitter) and other social media.
You can like, share, and subscribe to the Burning Archive YouTube channel, including my new initiatives of videos and livestreams discussing my substack essays, as well as readings of some of the finer history and writing I discuss here.
You can become a patron of fine literature by “buying me a coffee” at this Tip Jar.
You can even join my online history school, where I have introduced two new courses starting in June - an introductory guide to understanding geopolitics through world history and a deep dive into the rise and fall of empires.
Now, join me below the line for my reflections on the great French social commentator, Émile Durkheim.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Burning Archive to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.