Is Society an Artificial Thing or a Natural Thing: On Durkheim's critique of the social contract theory

契约论从个人出发推演社会,将社会视为由个人意志创造的人造物。但是,契约社会始终有被个人推翻的可能性。涂尔干从社会出发来论证社会的必然性,以期重新界定契约论留下的任意的抽象人格。这体现在他关于道德的自然性的观点上:道德是从人们的共同生活中自然生成的,并拥有自然必然性。个人的自由并不在于摆脱社会的任意,而是在于尊重和认识社会事实,并把社会的正常法则作为行动准则。正是这一点构成了实证主义的根本信念。

In the view of social contract theory, the society is deduced from the individual, so society is an artifact, which is created by the will of the individuals. However, this contractual society could be overturned by the arbitrary will of individuals and returns back to the state of nature. In order to determinate the arbitrary and abstract person, Durkheim argues that the society is a natural reality, which has the natural necessity independent of the particular will of the individuals. This character is reflected in the naturalness of the morals. The morals are generated from the common life naturally, and have natural necessity. The freedom or autonomy of the individuals does not lie in his arbitrary will, but is based on his respect for the social fact and taking action according to the normal necessity of the society. It is this conviction that constitutes the basic belief of the positive sociology.

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