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The contribution of French sociologist Emile Durkheim explains social facts as an idea, thing, or force that influences the action of individuals in a society. These actions are not limited to mere individuals but to supra individuals who are the generalised minds of individuals belonging to the community, more often referred to as ‘collective conscience’ or ‘associated characteristics’.

Social facts are considered as things that are real and exist independently of the person’s will and desire. Though they occur within the minds of individuals, they can be exercised by external constraints, but their true nature lies in the collective characteristics of society. 

Types of social facts 

Three types of social facts from a person’s social environment:

Structural and morphological social phenomena

  1. This includes population distribution in different territories, residential forms, and communication methods.
  2. The number and nature of parts of which a society is formed and the degree by which the community is fused make up the substratum of collective life. 
  3. Geographical location and the number of individuals in a community make up this category.

Institutionalised form of social facts

  1. This includes the general social facts of the society and is widespread.
  2. Legal, moral and religious, and established dogma that falls under this category is a collective nature of the society as a whole. 

Social facts 

  1. Social facts or social currents, as they may be called, include those facts that are beyond the institutionalised facts.
  2. These facts are not yet fully formed and established. Hence, they do not exist independently.
  3. As a result, they aren’t entirely accepted and practised by the majority.
  4. Situations of social fact include temporary breakouts related to religious issues and division of labour. 

Characteristics of social facts 

  1. Rules of social life may be expressed verbally or nonverbally. 
  2. Norms are typically the main target within the social science of culture and the social facts of various cultures or subcultural teams. Multiple studies on several cultural entities consider the norms that are generalised as “common sense” notions.
  3. Different cultural understandings of social facts reveal how social facts are created concerning the area and changed through collective consciousness. This indicates they’re not universal properties that exist everywhere in all places and times. 
  4. Through time in several cultures around the world, giving selflessly to a social collectable in the form of charity is considered normal. However, this differs among people in other cultures in how they wish to contribute to society.
  5. It is customary to allow money donations to charitable organisations in Western countries. Whereas many Americans granted that they must offer to charitable organisations, this way of generosity isn’t as common in different countries where government and nongovernmental entities work together toward the collective benefit in other ways. 

Additionally, there are three major dimensions of social facts in understanding the norms, which are stated below. 

  • Norms and values

This pertains to the foundations and expectations of a society in an area. Norms and values are action-guiding rules that play a significant role in maintaining order and stability in society.

  • Socialisation

This pertains to the approach of norms and values in an area and is learned usually in attendance to the social science of youth and rising adulthood or the social science of education.

  • Social outcomes

This pertains to the ways in which social facts have an effect on individuals in an area—typically operationalised as indicators of health and well-being or instructional attainment and school-to-work transitions. Social outcomes focus on the acceptable behaviour of the individuals living in the society.  

What are Durkheim’s Social Facts? 

Durkheim’s social facts are laid down as the “science of social facts” and include institutions of kinship and marriage, currency, language, religion, and political organisation. Deviation from following norms of such institutions, which deal with interaction with people from the society, makes an individual a misfit. 

His most noted work is the study of ‘social facts’ on suicide rates which remains influential. His study shows suicide to be a general problem rather than a personal one, with religion playing an essential role in the same.

What is a Social Fact of Mauss?

According to Mauss (Durkheim’s nephew and collaborator), total social facts include activities of members of a society that have implications on society’s economic, legal, political, and religious spheres. Strands of social and psychological life woven together are called total social facts.

Conclusion 

Even though social facts are stable, they are constantly changing over time. These social facts influence action, habits, and attitudes, and several studies seek answers to different outcomes based on underlying social facts. An example-in the 21st century, it was expected for children to be financially stable once they are young adults. This trend is changing as young adults of 18-20 years to 30 years are still living with their parents and maybe even financially dependent on them. Keeping this in mind, future generations in the United States will view multi generational households as standard, which is already normal in other cultures.