David Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), the French sociological giant, rigorously fought to separate sociology from psychology and philosophy. Etymologically, sociology combines the Latin socius (companion, associate) and Greek logos (study, reason). Durkheim's intellectual mission was anchored in treating social phenomena as things—Les faits sociaux doivent être traités comme des choses.
- Concept of Social Facts (Faits Sociaux): Defined in The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) as every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations.
- Characteristics: Externality, Constraint, and Generality. They exist objectively outside the individual consciousness and compel conformity through moral and legal sanctions.
- Durkheimian Positivism: Building upon Auguste Comte's earlier positivist framework, Durkheim maintained that social facts must be studied empirically, discarding metaphysical and psychological reductions.