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Durkheim and the Roots of Cliometric Reasoning

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  • Jean-Daniel Boyer
  • Claude Diebolt
  • Michael Haupert

Abstract

In the final chapter of The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), Émile Durkheim, the principal founder of French sociology, stresses the importance of adopting systematic quantitative comparisons in sociological research. First, quantitative methods enable the detection of previously unrecognized causalities and social laws that remain imperceptible through observation alone. Second, they assist in establishing and substantiating causal links. Durkheim even outlines two types of applications for serial quantitative analysis, distinguished by both static and dynamic perspectives. In this article, we argue that cliometrics offers a way to fulfill Durkheim’s initial (but soon abandoned) ambitions and transform sociology from a narrative discipline to one that incorporates quantitative methods and the precision they can bring to the treatment of social facts. This epistemological shift could open new avenues for both sociology and cliometrics.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Daniel Boyer & Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert, 2025. "Durkheim and the Roots of Cliometric Reasoning," Working Papers of BETA 2025-29, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2025-29
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines

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