DURKHEIM, EMILE.

Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse. Le système totémique en Australie.

Paris, Félix Alcan, 1925. 8vo. Uncut in the original printed wrappers. Front wrapper detached and top of spine of wrapper missing. Internally fine and clean. 647 pp + map.

Second edition of what is generally regarded as Durkheim's magnum opus, his groundbreaking study of totemism among the Australian aborigines, which led him to the foundational conclusion that religion is social, that the primary purpose of religion is to bind people together. Showing that society is the soul of religion, that society is the foundation of all religious belief, and that religion is what allows for a society to express its social unity "The Elementary forms of religious Life" furthermore explains the enduring relevance of religion throughout history.

Order-nr.: 52902