Durkheim addresses the theory of specialization by relating it to scientific research. When scientists increasingly focused on one small problem within a division of science, they became increasingly isolated and closed-off from other scientific theories. Durkheim quotes Auguste Comte, who states that this division is harmful to science because it limits a person’s knowledge because they cannot consider science as a whole. Durkheim goes on to state that “the division of labor cannot therefore be pushed too far without being a source of disintegration” (294). This brings up a key point we have been examining in class- the theory of the Renaissance Man versus the specialized worker. Is it better to have a man able to complete many tasks, or a specialized worker who can efficiently get his one job done?
Durkheim does bring up that Comte was not calling for the complete destruction of the division of labor. Society does, however, need something to keep the unity that the division of labor has destroyed. According to Comte, this uniting force is government. Durkheim states that “the organ of government develops with the division of labour, not as a counterbalance to it, but by mechanical necessity” (296). We as a class must consider, is government enough to unify the people and have a successful society despite the isolation caused by the division of labor? Is government really only a “mechanical necessity” in a society that promotes the division of labor?
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