Primary forms of religious life

Author: E. Durkheim (French), translated by Lin Zongjin and Peng Shouyi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-12-01
Features: This book primarily analyzes the primitive religion of Australian Aboriginal people, specifically the totemic beliefs of clans. Its materials are mostly derived from field research reports by British scholars in Australia during the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as references to the studies of North American Indians and Eskimos by American scholars. The book synthesizes Durkheim's social origin theory established during his time at the University of Chicago, serving as a model for explaining social facts through social facts. The ideas expressed in the book also form the common of the Année Sociologique school in explaining social consciousness, collective representations, primitive thought, and spatial and temporal classification.