DURKHEIM AND HISTORY.

The historical, and indeed evolutionary, dimension is a fundamental element in alt of Durkheim's sociological work. The resent paper argues that this fact should be neither ignored nor explained away as a mere survival of outmoded nineteenth century thought. Rather, Durkheim's practice in this respect, as in others, provides an important pointer for current sociology. The historical dimension had a prominent place in Durkheim's discussion of method in sociology, especially in his insistence on comparison and on structural taxonomy. In Durkheim's analysis of social causes, both morphological and representational, the historical and evolutionary dimension provided a fundamental axis. Various aspects of his work-for example, his sociology of the family, of individuation, and of religion-are cited to illustrate the significance of history in Durkheim's thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]