ABSTRACT
Emile Durkheim's was unquestionably a philosophical temperament and even a religious and prophetic temperament. He spoke of sociology with the moral fervor of the prophet. It has often been said that Durkheim presented a social philosophy in the name of sociology, that he was more philosopher than sociologist. Durkheim's theories of education are inspired by the same conceptions of man and society as are all his books. Education is a social process. Each society has the educational institutions which are suitable to it. Just as each society has a morality that is generally adapted to its needs, so each society has one or more methods of education corresponding to the collective needs. The morality of the Roman city-state differs concretely from the morality of the Soviet state or the American liberal state. It is true that each society has moral institutions, beliefs, and practices which are peculiar to it and which characterize the type of society it belongs to.
