Émile Durkheim and the Collective Consciousness of Society: A Study in Criminology (Key Issues in Modern Sociology)

This volume sets out to explore the use of Émile Durkheim’s concept of the ‘collective consciousness of society’, and represents the first ever book-length treatment of this underexplored topic. Operating from both a criminological and sociological perspective, Kenneth Smith argues that Durkheim’s original concept must be sensitively revised and suitably updated for its real relevance to come to the fore. Major adjustments to Durkheim’s concept of the collective consciousness include Smith’s compelling arguments that the model does not apply to everyone equally, and that Durkheim’s concept does not in any way rely on what might be called the disciplinary functions of society. Cover 1 Émile Durkheim and the CollectiveConsciousness of Society 4 CONTENTS 8 Make Thieves and then Punish Them 10 Preface 12 INTRODUCTION 18 Part I The Concept of the Collective Consciousness of Society 32 Preface to Part I 33 Introduction to Part I 34 1. Durkheim on the Collective Consciousness in 38 2. Durkheim’s Other Writings on the Concept of the Collective Consciousness 47 3. Collective Consciousness, Common Consciousness, Collective Conscience or 53 Conclusion to Part I 59 Part II The 62 of the Collective Consciousness 62 Preface to Part II 63 Introduction to Part II: The 67 of the Collective Consciousness of Society 67 4. The Form that the Collective Consciousness(es) of Society Takes in a Late -Industrial Society: I. 72 sociological or ‘General’ Characteristics 72 5. The State as the ‘Organ ’ of the 80 Consciousness 80 6. ‘The Rule-of-Law ’: A Case Study 87 7. The Form that the Collective Consciousness Takes in Early Twenty-First Century Britain : II. 93 sociological , Individual or Small-Scale Factors 93 Conclusion to Part II 104 Part III Durkheim on Crime and Punishment 108 Preface to Part III 109 Introduction to part iii 110 8. Durkheim on Crime and Punishment in 112 9. Durkheim on Crime and Punishment in 121 10. Interregnum on 130 (1897) 130 11. Durkheim’s Undeservedly Famous ‘Two Laws of Penal Evolution ’ Essay (1901) 133 12. Durkheim on Crime and Punishment in 138 (1902–03) 138 Conclusion to Part III 144 Part IV Social Fact or Social 148 Durkheim’s Concept of the Collective Consciousness as a ‘Social Fact ’ 148 Preface to Part IV 149 Introduction to Part IV 150 13. What Does Durkheim Mean by the Concept of the ‘Social’ and What Does He Mean by the Concept of a ‘Fact ’? 152 14. Social Facts or Social Phenomena ? 157 15. Social Facts and Sociology 163 16. Social Facts as Living Things 167 Conclusion to Part IV 175 Part V Some Problems with Durkheim’s Concept of the Common and Collective Consciousness 178 Preface to Part V 179 Introduction to Part V 180 17. Interdependence and the Division of Labour in Society 183 18. Durkheim on Socialism 191 19. Professional Ethics 198 20. Individualism , Durkheim and the Dreyfus Affair 205 Conclusion to Part V 214 ‘Love is ... desirable, but it’s by no means a “right”.’ 221 Conclusion 222 Appendix: On Paying a Debt to Society 240 NOTES 248 REFERENCES 268 INDEX 274 This excellent book makes a number of extremely interesting and original arguments and neatly links the historical/theoretical focus on Durkheim to contemporary criminological and more broadly sociological concerns. It should be accessible to undergraduates as well as being of interest to scholars in the field.' -William Outhwaite, Professor of Sociology, Newcastle University, UK 'In his excellent book Kenneth Smith provides a rigorous reading of a wider range of Durkheim's texts than is typically used by sociologists and criminologists. In doing so, he finds rarely noticed positive developments of, but also flaws in, the conceptual systems Durkheim deploys. Smith works with these systems, discriminating between them, correcting them, combining them, and using his own sociological imagination to produce a new and conceptually enriched Durkheimianism.' -Frank Pearce, Professor of Sociology, Queen's University, Canada 'Kenneth Smith opens Pandora's box and retheorizes Durkheim's crucial notion of the "conscience collective". His careful analytical exercise is not just illuminating for criminology but also for social theory in general. Smith prompts us to ask once again what the common or collective consciousness of our own societies today might look like. A major achievement of Durkheimian scholarship.' -Hans-Peter Müller, Professor of Sociology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany This volume sets out to explore the use of Émile Durkheim's concept of the 'collective consciousness of society', and represents the first ever book-length treatment of this underexplored topic. Operating from both a criminological and sociological perspective, Kenneth Smith argues that Durkheim's original concept must be sensitively revised and suitably updated for its real relevance to come to the fore "Emile Durkheim and the Collective Consciousness of Society: A Study in Criminology challenges conventional thinking on the use of Durkheim s key concept of the collective consciousness of society, and represents the first ever book-length treatment of this underexplored topic. Operating from both a criminological and sociological perspective, Kenneth Smith argues that Durkheim s original concept must be sensitively revised and updated for its real relevance to come to the fore. This study puts forward three major adjustments to Durkheim s concept of the collective consciousness. It complicates the idea that the common and collective consciousness are interchangeable terms for the same phenomenon; it refutes the disciplinary function of society as part of the concept of the common or collective consciousness; and it reveals the illusiveness of the supposed universal set of equally held ideas in a society, underlining the importance of geographical and generational variation."--Page 4 of cover ‘Émile Durkheim and the Collective Consciousness of Society: A Study in Criminology'challenges conventional thinking on the use of Durkheim's key concept of the ‘collective consciousness of society', and represents the first ever book-length treatment of this underexplored topic. Operating from both a criminological and sociological perspective, Kenneth Smith argues that Durkheim's original concept must be sensitively revised and updated for its real relevance to come to the fore. This study puts forward three major adjustments to Durkheim's concept of the collective consciousness. It complicates the idea that the common and collective consciousness are interchangeable terms for the same phenomenon; it refutes the ‘disciplinary'function of society as part of the concept of the common or collective consciousness; and it reveals the illusiveness of the supposed universal set of equally held ideas in a society, underlining the importance of geographical and generational variation.