Question 1

Durkheim's notion of mechanical solidarity-that people in &#34;primitive&#34; societies are largely alike in their personalities and outlooks-is a viewpoint widely accepted among modern anthropologists.

Accepted Answer

Durkheim's notion of mechanical solidarity has been largely criticized and challenged by modern anthropologists who argue that even in small-scale societies, individuals have unique personalities and outlooks. Mechanical solidarity refers to the social solidarity based on similarity and likeness among individuals in a society, which is now seen as oversimplifying and essentializing the complexity of human social interactions.

Question 2

Like Franz Boas, but unlike most nineteenth-century social thinkers, Durkheim believed that race was not a determinant of one's behavior.

Accepted Answer

Durkheim believed that individual behavior was shaped primarily by social forces, rather than biological or racial factors.

Question 3

Durkheim believed, like Marx, that an increasingly complex division of labor in modern industrial society would lead to growing conflict between classes.

Accepted Answer

Durkheim actually believed that the growing division of labor in modern industrial society would lead to greater social solidarity, rather than conflict between classes. He argued that individuals would become more interdependent on one another and develop a shared sense of collective consciousness, which he termed "mechanical solidarity."

Question 4

The primary function of social facts, Durkheim argued, is to make collective life possible by promoting social solidarity.

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects Durkheim's views on the purpose of social facts. Durkheim believed that social facts, such as norms, values, and institutions, serve to bind individuals together and create a sense of community and shared purpose. Without these shared social realities, Durkheim argued, society would be fragmented and individuals would lack a sense of belonging and mutual obligation.

Question 5

Durkheim's views of religion were conditioned by the fact that, like many generations of his family before him, he was a practicing Rabbi.

Accepted Answer

Durkheim's family background was Jewish, but he himself did not practice Judaism and was actually a secular Jew.

Question 6

Suicide was most likely in Protestant societies such as Sweden rather than Catholic countries such as Italy or Spain, Durkheim believed, because the Catholic Church taught that the practice was a mortal sin.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suicide was most likely in Protestant societies...

Question 7

Weber subscribed to a naturalistic orientation, which tried to account for the desires and beliefs of individuals based on the specific social and historical context in which they lived.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Weber believed that the desires and beliefs of individuals were shaped by the social and historical context in which they lived, and thus adopted a naturalistic orientation in his sociological approach.

Question 8

According to Weber, Protestantism developed primarily because a rising bourgeoisie (capitalist class) wanted to free itself from the restraints of the Catholic church on money lending.

Accepted Answer

Max Weber argued in "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" that the Protestant ethic, particularly Calvinism, contributed to the development of capitalism by changing people's attitudes towards work and economic success, not primarily because a rising bourgeoisie wanted to free itself from the Catholic Church's restraints on money lending.

Question 9

Although Weber disagreed with Marx over the origins of capitalism, he agreed with him that the primary source of conflict in modern society was between the proletariat and bourgeoisie.

Accepted Answer

Weber believed that the primary source of conflict in modern society was not between the proletariat and bourgeoisie, but between various social classes and groups competing for power and resources. He also believed that cultural and religious factors played a significant role in shaping social stratification and inequality.

Question 10

Anthropologists who have studied messianic religious movements, such as the Native American Ghost Dance or Melanesian Cargo Cults, have drawn more heavily from the ideas of Durkheim than from Weber.

Accepted Answer

While both Durkheim and Weber have influenced the study of religious movements, Weber's ideas on charisma, authority, and the social implications of religious movements have been more directly applied to the study of messianic movements like the Ghost Dance and Cargo Cults. Durkheim focused more on the social functions of religion and collective effervescence, which, although relevant, do not directly address the charismatic leadership and salvation themes central to messianic movements.

Deck 5: Heirs to Order and Progress