Final answer:
Émile Durkheim called the aspects of social life that shape individual actions 'social facts.' These include norms, values, and cultural rules which have a coercive power over individual behavior, influencing patterns of behavior and forming the collective conscience.
Step-by-step explanation:
The aspects of social life that influence and shape our individual actions, as discussed by Émile Durkheim, are referred to as social facts. Durkheim, a prominent functionalist sociologist, emphasized that society must be studied in terms of its broad structures and cultural norms, and not just by examining individual behavior. Social facts encompass societal laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, rituals, and other cultural rules. These elements mold our behavior and set expectations for how individuals conduct themselves within a social context.
Durkheim and Social Facts
Durkheim used the term social facts to signify norms, values, and structures that transcend individual choices and exert a coercive influence on our actions. These social facts are seen as external to the individual and are effective in crafting predictable patterns of behavior. Durkheim's study of '' highlighted how even personal acts like can be influenced by social factors such as the degree of social solidarity and the differences in rates among various religious groups.
For Durkheim, understanding society requires examining these social facts, which configure the collective conscience and regulate the life of the individual within the community. This explains why, as societies grow more complex, there is a transition from mechanical to organic forms of social order.