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Jean-Gabriel TardeFrench sociologist and criminologist
Date of Birth: 12.03.1843
Country:  France |
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Biography of Jean-Gabriel Tarde
Jean-Gabriel Tarde (1843–1904) was a French sociologist and criminologist, and one of the founders of the subjective-psychological approach in Western sociology. Born on March 12, 1843, he spent most of his life in the small town of Sarlat in the south of France, near Bordeaux. Coming from a family of lawyers, Tarde initially pursued a career as a provincial lawyer, only engaging in scientific activities in his spare time. It was only in the last decade of his life that he was able to fully devote himself to his true calling, gaining a reputation as one of the leading sociologists in France.
Tarde received his initial education at a local Jesuit school, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1860. He originally planned to continue his education in the field of polytechnic sciences, but due to health problems, he had to study law in Sarlat. Starting his studies in his provincial town, he completed his legal education in Paris in 1866.
After obtaining his higher education, Tarde returned to Sarlat and continued the family's professional tradition. In 1867, he became an assistant judge in his hometown, and within just two years, he became a temporary judge in Sarlat. From 1875 to 1894, he served as a permanent judge. In addition to his judicial practice, he also found time to pursue scientific research. From 1880, his works were regularly published in the Philosophical Review, and from 1887, he worked as co-director of the Archives of Criminal Anthropology alongside his duties as a judge. Tarde's early works focused on criminology, with notable monographs such as "Comparative Criminality" (1886) and "Philosophy of Punishment" (1890). These works established Tarde as a serious researcher, known far beyond his hometown. In addition to criminology, Tarde also began studying sociology. It is known that he developed his original sociological theory as early as the 1870s, but he refrained from publishing it for a long time.
It was only after the death of his mother in 1894 that Tarde was able to fully dedicate himself to science. He left provincial Sarlat and moved to Paris to become the director of the section of criminal statistics at the French Ministry of Justice. In 1896, he began his teaching career, which developed dynamically. Tarde worked in two places simultaneously - the Free School of Political Sciences and the Free College of Social Sciences. His major book, "Social Laws," was published in 1898. In 1900, after an initial failed attempt, the recent provincial was appointed as a professor and became the head of the Department of Contemporary Philosophy at the Collège de France, one of the leading universities in France. In the same year, he was elected as a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. Teaching became his main occupation until his death.
Tarde's sociological career overlapped with that of Émile Durkheim. At first glance, these two founders of the French school of sociology had much in common: both based their theories on statistical data, were interested in the nature of social norms, and emphasized the importance of comparison as a method of scientific research. However, their concepts were fundamentally different. Durkheim placed central importance on society, which shapes the individual, while Tarde focused on the study of interaction between individuals (individual consciousness), which produces society. By placing the emphasis on the study of individuals, he actively advocated for the creation of social psychology as a science, which should serve as the foundation of sociology. The opposition between Durkheim and Tarde in solving the problem of what is primary - society or the individual - gave rise to the modern debate between proponents of society as a single organism and their opponents who see society as a sum of independent individuals. According to Tarde, the development of society is based on the socio-communicative activity of individuals in the form of imitation. Imitation, in his view, refers to the elementary copying and repetition by individuals of the behavior of others. This process involves the replication of existing practices, beliefs, and attitudes, which are passed down from generation to generation through imitation. This process helps to maintain the integrity of society.
Another important concept in Tarde's explanation of societal development is "invention" (or "innovation"). He regarded it as the process of adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Everything new that emerges in society, whether ideas or material values, he considered the result of the creative activity of a few talented individuals. Language, religion, craftsmanship, and the state - all of these, according to Tarde, are products of the creative minds of innovative individuals. Once something new emerges, it sets off a process of imitation. This can be compared to ripples on the water that spread after a drop falls: imitation of something new gradually encompasses a larger and larger mass of people, losing its initial strength. The establishment of all major social institutions, according to Tarde, occurred because ordinary people, incapable of inventing something new, began imitating innovative creators and utilizing their inventions. Thus, the activities of a few innovators and the innovations they create, according to Tarde, are the main driving force behind social evolution and the development of society. It should be noted that the most widespread are not just any "inventions," but those that fit within the existing culture and do not contradict its foundations to a great extent.
The struggle between different "inventions," which provide different solutions to the problems faced by society, leads to the emergence of opposition (resistance to innovation). This results in various disputes, conflicts, and struggles (including warfare). Nevertheless, any opposition is usually eventually replaced by adaptation and the assimilation of the "invention." This completes the cycle of social processes, and society remains unchanged until a new innovator makes a new "invention."
Tarde's research also focused on the comparative study of crowds and publics. Engaging in a debate with Gustave Le Bon, Tarde argued against describing his contemporary reality as the "age of the crowd." From his perspective, the 19th century was more accurately described as the "age of the public." By contrasting these two concepts, Tarde emphasized the necessity of physical contact between people in the case of a crowd, and the sufficiency of intellectual connections for the formation of a public. He understood this intellectual unity as a community of opinions. Tarde believed that mass media played a significant role in the emergence of the "public society," shaping a sense of shared opinions among people regardless of their physical location. Tarde's reflections on the differences between the crowd and the public can be seen as an approach to understanding social phenomena such as civil society and mass culture.
Tarde's work extended beyond general sociological theory to include various specific areas of social science, such as political science (his work "The Transformation of Power"), economics ("Economic Psychology," "The Reform of Political Economy"), criminology ("Comparative Criminality" and "Philosophy of Punishment"), and art history ("The Essence of Art").
In late 19th and early 20th century Russia, Tarde's ideas gained significant popularity. Many of his books were translated into Russian immediately after their publication in France. His views had a strong influence on the concepts of the Russian "subjective school" (P.L. Lavrov, N.K. Mikhailovsky, S.N. Yuzhakov, N.I. Kareev). However, even for them, Tarde's principle of absolute primacy of the individual over society was not fully acceptable. As N.K. Mikhailovsky ironically conveyed the impression of Tarde's concept, "The reason Luther and Münzer found their place in history is not because the burden of feudal-Catholic order became intolerable, but because Luther's ideas spread."
Contemporary scholars recognize the importance of Tarde's contributions to the development of sociological science. German sociologist Jürgen Habermas considers Tarde to be the founder of such popular approaches in modern sociology as the theory of mass culture and the analysis of public opinion. However, since the dominant view in 20th century sociology is that society has a determining influence on the individual, rather than the other way around (as Tarde argued), Tarde is less popular today compared to his opponent Durkheim.
