What did Emile Durkheim mean by mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity?

Mechanical solidarity refers to connection, cohesion, and integration born from homogeneity, or similar work, education, religiosity, and lifestyle. Organic solidarity is born from the interdependence of individuals in more advanced societies, particularly professional dependence.

What did Durkheim mean by organic solidarity and mechanical solidarity?

mechanical and organic solidarity, in the theory of the French social scientist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), the social cohesiveness of small, undifferentiated societies (mechanical) and of societies differentiated by a relatively complex division of labour (organic).

What does Durkheim say about mechanical solidarity?

Mechanical solidarity is a type of social cohesion based on the similarities of the members of the society. People living in Durkheim mechanical solidarity will have similar jobs, values, religious beliefs, and customs.

What is the main difference between mechanical and organic solidarity?

Mechanical solidarity arises from commonalities amongst community members and organic solidarity arises from the interdependence of community members on one another. Societies with mechanical solidarity are less complex and have a simpler division of labor compared to societies with organic solidarity.

What is the meaning of organic solidarity?

organic solidarity in American English



noun. Sociology. social cohesiveness that is based on division of labor and interdependence and is characteristic of complex, industrial societies.

What was Emile Durkheim’s main idea?

Durkheim believed that society exerted a powerful force on individuals. According to Durkheim, people’s norms, beliefs, and values make up a collective consciousness, or a shared way of understanding and behaving in the world. The collective consciousness binds individuals together and creates social integration.

What is an example of Emile Durkheim’s idea of organic solidarity?

Example of Durkheim’s organic solidarity is that a mechanic needs a doctor and a doctor needs a mechanic not because they share same lifestyle or political beliefs but because mechanic needs a treatment and doctor needs his car fixed. They depend on each other because they specialized in different fields.

What is social solidarity according to Emile Durkheim?

Social solidarity is the cohesion between individuals in a society that ensures social order and stability. It underlines the interdependence between people in a society, which makes them feel that they can improve the lives of others (Durkheim, 1933).

What is the difference between mechanical and social solidarity?


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What does Durkheim mean by solidarity?

According to Durkheim, the type of solidarity will correlate with the type of society, either mechanical or organic society. The two types of solidarity can be distinguished by morphological and demographic features, type of norms in existence, and the intensity and content of the conscience collective.

What did Durkheim mean by social solidarity?

Following the discussion above, Durkheim argued that societies characterized by organic solidarity generated social solidarity not through sameness, but through interdependence. However, Durkheim also stated that this solidarity is precarious and can be abnormal, producing anomie as a consequence.

What is the difference between mechanical and organic solidarity quizlet?

The basic distinction between societies based on mechanical and organic solidarity, is that mechanical societies have a strong collective morality, and that organic societies have a pre-contractual solidarity, where they have a moral obligation to do one’s part in their division of labor.