ABSTRACT
Prominent among the "internal" factors leading to the Durkheimians' interest in primitive peoples was one of their fundamental methodological-epistemological beliefs. Emile Durkheim pointed out that his method of studying primitive religion "gives a means of renewing the problems which, up to the present, have only been discussed among philosophers," for this approach means that "the problem of knowledge is posed in new terms." The Durkheimians were preoccupied with the religious elements of social life. This fascination facilitated their turn away from modern Europe. The Durkheimians seemed obsessed by a desire to justify sociology as a legitimate discipline with a subject matter all its own. The accuracy of the "proto-fascist" allegation aside, it is evident from this example that the Durkheimians felt their work on primitive societies and civilizations to be of great relevance to modern European socio-political problems.
