2. Marx, Durkheim and Weber each have particular ways of handling social cohesion and change in human society or culture. Where does social cohesion and change come from, how does it happen, and what causes it? Does each have an analysis of change or merely a typology of stages? Are the causes of social cohesion and change materialist, idealist or some other approach? How might you evaluate the contributions of each or their weakness in regard to an analysis of change? The theorists Marx, Durkheim, and Weber each have a different understanding of social cohesion and change in human society or culture. Social cohesion is the set of characteristics that keep a group able to function as a unit, this definition formed in the late eighteenth century. However, the cause of social cohesion is often debated, whether it be materialist, or idealist approach. Marx, Durkheim, and Weber each gave many contributions to the disciplines of anthropology and sociology, but their contributions each have weakness that our society can now analyse and understand. …show more content…
Durkheim was born on April 15, 1858 and died on November 15, 1917. He grew up in a Jewish family in the alsace region of Eastern France. Durkheim studied society with a different approach than Spencer and Marx, who wrote in terms of the human struggle for survival. Durkheim focused more on the solidarity within a society. He thought that within the biological makeup of human brains allowed for collective conscience. Collective conscience is Durkheim’s understanding of social cohesion. Durkheim’s collective conscience originated in the communal interactions and experiences of members of a society, not explained by individual