Theory of Morality

Durkheim started with the idea that morals or morality is nothing but internal control of ideas and the characteristic of morals is their relativism. Durkheim stated that morality is a function of society and makes sense only in relation to a given collective order. For him, the source of morality in society is an indissoluble bond between man and society. It became impossible to desire a morality other than that endorsed by the condition of society at a given time. So, to understand the desire for morality other than that implied by the nature of society is to deny the latter, and consequently, oneself and society are the end of all morality.

On the other hand, Durkheim feels that the individual does not rebel against the social system as a whole but against one or more aspects of it. For him, the conformity with many other parts of the system provides the rebel with the motive force to rebel.

Durkheim defines morality as “a system of rules of conduct.” For him, all the techniques are governed by rules, and he hastens to differentiate between moral rules and other rules of technique in terms of two distinct properties.

  1. Obligation or duty: Moral rules are invested with a special authority by virtue of which they are obeyed simply because they command.

  2. Desirability: The notion of duty does not exhaust the concept of morality. We can't carry out an act simply because we are ordered to do so without considering its content. For us to become the agents of an act, it must interest our sensibility to a certain extent and appear to us as, in some way, desirable.

Thus, a combination of the obligatory and the desirable makeup morality. Durkheim was sharply aware that there may be divergence or even tension between the two elements at the time. Indeed, when the feeling of obligation is relegated to the background of the old duties that have lost their power without our being able to see clearly and with assurance where our new responsibilities lie, a moral crisis develops in the collective order.

In the midst of this, Durkheim identified three elements of morality:

  1. The essence of morality is the authority which regulates human conduct and provides the individual with determinate goals.

  2. Morality begins only in so far as we belong to a human group.

  3. Morality involves a kind of autonomy ingrained in a collective order.

Durkheim felt that the theory of morality in the contemporary world is only feeble by rule and the most significant part of man’s existence is outside the moral sphere. Morality is like religion, according to Durkheim, is a social fact inherent in an individual’s personality.

Morgan, J. H., & Abraham, M. F. (1989). Sociological Thought: From Comte to Sorokin; Marx, Spencer, Pareto, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Mannheim. Wyndham Hall Press. (pp123-126)

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