Émile Durkheim

The collective consciousness is the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the same society.

The individual is not merely a part of society; he is a product of it.

Moral rules are imperative and obligatory.

The cult of the individual is the only cult which is not a cult of the past.

The individual is the object of a sort of religion.

The essence of religion is not in its dogmas, but in its cult.

Society is a reality sui generis.

The more the individual is integrated into a group, the less likely he is to commit suicide.

Egoistic suicide results from a lack of integration into society.

Altruistic suicide results from excessive integration into society.

Anomic suicide results from a lack of moral regulation.

Fatalistic suicide results from excessive moral regulation.

The division of labor is a source of social solidarity.

The normal is that which is most frequent.

The function of a social fact must always be sought in the relation it sustains to some social end.

The cause of a social fact must be sought among antecedent social facts and not among states of the individual consciousness.

Society is a reality which is greater than the sum of its parts.

The individual is not born free, but becomes free through society.

Morality consists in being solidary with the group.

The family is the elementary form of society.