Emile Durkheim was definitely one of the most important contributors to sociological knowledge. His “comparative method” leads to the importance of studying different types of society comparatively. Durkheim believed that we must study social life with the same objectivity as scientists study the natural world. He was the first sociologist who emphasized the reality of society. He introduced “Rules of sociological method” to carry out the scientific study of society.

Durkheim’s opinion is that man’s social behavior has to understand not by personal view but by social background. He says that human event is called “social”. According to him, we perform every action in the interest of society. Our duties and practices are defined through law and custom. We have not created the duties, but have inherited them through our education these types of conduct are called ‘social facts’ in the words of Durkheim.

“A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not. Capable of exercising on the individual an entemal constraint. Durkheim used the theory of “Anomie” in his book on the Davison of labor in society. To him suicide is a social fact that takes place due to external force. He outlined four types of suicide. They are 

(1) Egoistic suicide 

(2) Anomie suicide 

(3)Altruistic suicide 

(4)Fatalistic suicide.

Durkheim was impressed by the fact that religion is universal in human society and he felt that religion plays vital role in maintaining society as whole religious beliefs emerges from society and helps to hold the society together. Durkheim laid foundation for various specialized fields of study like General Sociology, sociology of religion, sociology of morals, sociology of law, sociology of crime, economic sociology and sociology of aesthetics, etc.

The major works of Emile Durkheim are “The division of Labour in society”, “Suicide”, “The Rules of sociological method”, “The Elementary forms of religious Life”.