To pursue a goal which is by definition unattainable is to condemn oneself to a state of perpetual unhappiness. Emile Durkheim condemndefinitiongoal Change image and share on social
Men have been obliged to make for themselves a notion of what religion is, long before the science of religions started its methodical comparisons. Emile Durkheim comparisonlongmake Change image and share on social
There are two types of men: the great and the small. Emile Durkheim greatmansmall Change image and share on social
Faith is not uprooted by dialectic proof; it must already be deeply shaken by other causes to be unable to withstand the shock of argument. Emile Durkheim argumentdeeplydialectic Change image and share on social
By definition, sacred beings are separated beings. That which characterizes them is that there is a break of continuity between them and the profane beings. Emile Durkheim beingbreakcharacterize Change image and share on social
Our whole social environment seems to us to be filled with forces which really exist only in our own minds. Emile Durkheim environmentexistfill Change image and share on social
The individual can maintain himself in a society definitely organized only through possessing an equally definite mental and moral constitution. This is what the neuropath lacks. His state of disturbance causes him to be constantly taken by surprise by circumstances. Emile Durkheim circumstanceconstantlyconstitution share on social
The human person, whose definition serves as the touchstone according to which good must be distinguished from evil, is considered as sacred, in what one might call the ritual sense of the word. It has something of that transcendental majesty which the churches of all times have given to their Gods. Emile Durkheim callchurchconsider share on social
Sadness does not inhere in things; it does not reach us from the world and through mere contemplation of the world. It is a product of our own thought. We create it out of whole cloth. Emile Durkheim clothcontemplationcreate Change image and share on social
One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name of infinity; this does not change its nature. Emile Durkheim absorbattractbestow Change image and share on social