2017年四川大学考博英语真题6

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Passage Six

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was concerned primarily with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in the modem era, when things such as shared religious and ethnic background could no longer be assumed. In order to study social life in modem societies, Durkheim sought to create one of the first scientific approaches to social phenomena. Along with Herbert Spencer, Durkheim was one of the first people to explain the existence and quality of different parts of a society by reference to what function they served in keeping the society healthy and balanced一a position that would come to be known as functionalism. Durkheim also insisted that society was more than the sum of its parts. Thus, unlike his contemporary Max Weber, he focused not on what motivates the actions of individual people (methodological individualism) , but rather on the study of “social facts”，a term which he coined to describe phenomena which have an existence in and of themselves and are not bound to the actions of individuals. He argued that social facts had an independent existence greater and more objective than the actions of the individuals that composed society and could only be explained by other social facts rather than, say, by society’s adaptation to a particular climate or ecological niche.

In his 1893 work, The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim examined how social order was maintained in different types of societies. He focused on the division of labor, and examined how it differed in traditional societies and modem societies. Authors before him such as Herbert Spencer and Ferdinand Toennies had argued that societies evolved much like living organisms, moving from a simple state to a more complex one resembling the workings of complex machines. Durkheim reversed his formula, adding his theory to the growing pool of theories of social progress, social evolutionism and social Darwinism. He argued that traditional societies were “mechanical” and were held together by the

fact that everyone was more or less the same, and hence had things in common. In traditional societies, argued Durkheim, the collective consciousness entirely subsumed individual consciousness一social norms were strong and social behavior was well-regulated. In modem societies, he argued, the highly complex division of labor resulted in “organic” solidarity. Different specializations in employment and

social roles created dependencies that tied people to one another, since people no longer could count on filling all of their needs by themselves. In “mechanical” societies, for example, subsistence farmers live in communities which are self-sufficient and knit together by a common heritage and common job.

In modem “organic” societies, workers earn money, and must rely on other people who specialize in certain products (groceries, clothing, etc) to meet their needs. The result of increasing division of labor, according to Durkheim, is that individual consciousness emerges distinct from collective consciousness一often finding itself conflict with collective consciousness.

26. What is NOT true about Emile Durkheim?

A. He tried to explain the elements of a society and how they functioned.

B. He lived in the time of Max Weber but did not share his views on society.

C. Functionalism was a new approach he sought to create to study modern societies.

D. He did not care much about methodological individualism.

27. Which point about “social facts” is mentioned in the passage?

A. Social facts are all the things we see.

B. Social facts include what people do.

C. Social facts exist independent of people.

D. Social facts can be explained by a particular climate.

28. The word “ subsumes ” in the middle of the second paragraph can be best replaced by

A. discredits B. includes C. substitutes D. replaces

29. Which of the following can best describe the identity of Emile Durkheim?

A. A social evolutionist. B. A social Darwinist.

C. A social scientist. D. A social revolutionary.

30. According to Durkheim, the increasing division of labor is •

A. a necessary result of all complex societies

B. an important element causing modem societies to differ from traditional ones

C. what creates dependencies that tie people to one another

D. one obvious symbol of “mechanical” societies

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