| Abstract: | Despite a resurgence of interest in Durkheim, insufficient attention has been directed toward his social morphology. The result is an underestimation of the role of history in his sociology and conception of unified science. The author argues that from the earliest stages of his intellectual career Durkheim displayed a sensitivity to the value of historical investigation for social explanation. This interest, reflecting various influences in the intellectual milieux of his time, varied among three distinct historical perspectives and methodological frameworks: the comparative, the evolutionary, and the developmental. Differentiating the three approaches counteracts the tendency among interpreters to collapse all three into the evolutionary framework alone. |
