ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes the theoretical framework to analyze Emile Durkheim's relationship to academic philosophy. Durkheim assumes from the beginning that sociology is a natural science, and hence he applies the principles of empirical rather than rational definition. The chapter describes the institutional structure of academic philosophy and Durkheim's place in it. It provides the theory of definition in the academic tradition. The chapter presents The Rules to examine the ways in which Durkheim uses definition as method and rhetoric. It looks at responses to Durkheim's use of definition in some of the early French reviews of The Rules, mostly written by individuals connected with academic philosophy. Academic philosophy in France was a highly centralized institution that produced professors capable of teaching a standard curriculum. In an intellectual field such as academic philosophy, achievement in philosophy is a requirement for successful competition.
