Durkheim is a very influential name to remember when thinking about sociology. Durkheim's mission was to develop sociology so that it could be defined and to develop a method for how it should be used. Durkheim's main concern in his career was mainly associated with how societies could preserve their integrity and rationality within modernized society, when things such as shared religious views and ethnic origins are seen as things of the past. In relation to Durkheim's social realism, his concern was with the growing individualism in society. Durkheim argues that we are in an age that is imperfectly moving towards a morality based on individualism since “Durkheim regarded individualism as a collective representation, a force that would imprint itself on human minds independently of their subjective opinions, as well as the manifestation of selfish wills." (Mestrovic 1988: 8). Ultimately Durkheim was a firm believer that society defines the individual rather than the individual shaping society. For this reason we can clearly see why Durkheim was highly concerned with the growing individualism in society, within a society which according to him shapes an individual, therefore individuals are highly dependent on society. This can be seen in Durkheim's theory of the division of labor. Durkheim argues that in a primitive society, which is a society that is seen as having more morals and was a much better society to live in, this is because the society is seen as deteriorating as civilization developed and became modernized. The division of labor within a primitive society therefore is to create or maintain a mechanical social solidarity in which there is a common consensus that allows the social order to be maintained... at the center of the card... individuals living outside inside a primitive society. society. Works Cited Calhoun, C. Et al. (2007) Classical Sociological Theory (2nd ed.). Blackwell.Crab, l. (1997) Classical sociological theory. London: Oxford University PressHughes, J. & Martin, P. & Sharrock, W. (1997) Understanding classical sociology: Marx, Weber and Durkheim. London: SageDurkheim, E. (1976) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Biddles LtdDurkheim, E. (1984) The Division of Labor in Society. Great Britain: MacmillanDurkheim, E. (1982) Rules of the sociological method. United States of America: MacmillanBellah, R. & Durkheim, E. (1973) On Morality and Society: Selected Readings. London: Chicago PressMestrovic, S. (1988) Emile Durkheim and the Reform of Sociology. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Weber, M. (1978) Sections in translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press