Durkheim 's Social View And Modern Individual

People have been experiencing their rich material life since modern society, meanwhile conversely their mental conditions are getting into crisis. The absence or ambiguity of belief has created the lost individuals who are living in a state of bewilderment. And then anomie behavior occurred frequently in consequence of the lack of action norms of faith-based. The principle of utilitarianism has been spreaded not only to the setting principle of economic and political systems, but almost to people’s daily life as well. The interpersonal relationship based on the “pleasure principle”. However, though people nearly take the utilitarian principle as the highest standards of everyday life, the promises made by utilitarianism advocates did not play a part in alleviating the modern spiritual poverty and desolation. Even in a certain sense, it is the utilitarian principle that made people’s moral goal in daily life becomes a single, pure one. Thereupon, the thought that life is a unquenchable boredom could become an impulse that lead people to the urge of nothingness time after time. Although focusing on human happiness,the utilitarian principle played a role in intensifying the modern spiritual crisis situation。However, the era of meaningless did not at last bring annihilation to the modern’s efforts on finding an absolute meaning. The modern spiritual crisis situation is not a fresh phenomenon in recent years.In fact, since the late 19 th and early 20 th century, some of the pioneers of the times had been analysed and interpreted the situation, even from which they presented their valuable intellectual heritage. This thesis gives a introduction of Durkheim’s social concept in this sense. Through exploring the changing process of Durkheim’s thoughts, the thesis attemps to answer whether modern people’s "social" could become a possibility during they search for faith and establish norms of faith-based. This thesis is divided into five parts altogether. In the first part, the preface introduces the origin and significance of the study. By combing literature materials about Durkheim, I found that Durkheim’s discussion of modernity is based on the principle of its critique of utilitarianism. In Durkheim’s view, the crisis of modern life is result from the universality of the utilitarian principle and the lack of final sense. The second part introduces the basic principles of empiricism and utilitarianism and noted the ethical principles and the defect of philosophical basis. On this basis, the thesis raises Durkheim’s early view of society. Although Durkheim emphasised on social and normative, he had always been difficult to get rid of utilitarianism and rational assumptions. The third part introduces the works "Faust" and "Crime and Punishment" to analyse the essence of the modern spiritual predicament in a special experiential sense. Meanwhile a brief introduction is given to the Existentialist philosopher’s answers to modern existentialists individual freedom and faith. Thesis also points out the nihilism danger they may face. The first three parts show that enjoyment of utilitarianism can not give people such guidance higher than faith. In a way the extreme individualism embodied in existentialism manifested also will bring a final bust. Therefore, it perhaps be advisable to redirect the modern pursuit of life meaning to some existence beyond people themselves. The fourth chapter introduces a social philosophy of Rousseau. By analysing the gain and loss of the social contract theory based on the principles of the natural state, The thesis points out how did Durkheim discover the theoretical basis of moral principles of individualism in his late thoughts on religious studies after he praised Rousseau’s "great creation".Conclusion is a reflection on modern society.