Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist who is widely regarded as the father of modern sociology. Durkheim's work on deviance, or behavior that falls outside of the norms and expectations of a particular society, has had a lasting impact on the field of sociology and continues to be widely studied and debated today.
According to Durkheim, deviance is an inherent and necessary part of any healthy society. He argued that deviance serves as a way for societies to define and reinforce their values and norms, as well as to identify and punish those who do not conform to these expectations. In this way, deviance serves as a way for societies to maintain social cohesion and solidarity.
However, Durkheim also recognized that too much deviance can be harmful to a society. He argued that when deviance becomes widespread and normalized, it can lead to social disorganization and ultimately, the breakdown of social order.
Durkheim believed that there are two types of deviance: criminal deviance, which refers to behavior that is defined as illegal by the law, and moral deviance, which refers to behavior that is seen as immoral or socially unacceptable but is not necessarily illegal. According to Durkheim, criminal deviance serves as a way for society to reaffirm its values and punish those who violate them, while moral deviance serves as a way for society to identify and correct behaviors that may be harmful to the social order.
One of the key contributions of Durkheim's work on deviance is his emphasis on the social and cultural factors that influence deviant behavior. He argued that deviance is not simply a result of individual characteristics or psychological problems, but rather it is shaped by the social and cultural context in which it occurs. This means that what is considered deviant in one society may not be considered deviant in another, and that deviant behavior is not fixed but rather is constantly evolving and shaped by social and cultural changes.
In conclusion, Emile Durkheim's view on deviance was that it was an inherent and necessary part of any healthy society, but that too much deviance could lead to social disorganization and the breakdown of social order. He argued that deviance serves as a way for societies to define and reinforce their values and norms, and that it is influenced by social and cultural factors rather than individual characteristics. Durkheim's work on deviance continues to be widely studied and debated in the field of sociology and has had a lasting impact on our understanding of this complex and important social issue.