Practice question · Multiple choice
Durkheim held that a social fact must be explained by another social fact, while Weber held that sociology explains by reconstructing the meaning individuals attach to their action. What is genuinely at stake in that disagreement?
Hints
- Ask what each rule forbids you to say.
- One position allows "the church did X"; the other insists that must be shorthand for what its members meant and did.
Show the answer
B. Whether collective entities are causes in their own right or explanations run via individuals
Why
Durkheim's holism contrasts with Weber's methodological individualism regarding causal explanation. Other options conflate this with Tönnies's distinction, historical scope, or ideas in economic change, missing the core methodology.
Practise The European Consolidation: Durkheim, Weber and Tönnies
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