logical tradition to which Liker's analysis has affinity is that of Durkheim. As well, the notion of measuring adjustment is consistent with what Collins refers to as the "proscience line" of sociology "centered in the positivism of Comte and Durkheim" (Collins, 1994, p. 24). As Collins explains, Durkheim sought to apply the scientific method to the task of examining the form, function, and substance of contemporary society. Durkheim views society as the sum that is greater than the parts of various forces interacting within it. To the extent the society is a separate entity with a life of its own, independent of subsidiary elements existing within it, the result is the formation of a social collective or of "social solidarity" (Collins, 1994, p. 184), with individual elements within the collective to one degree or another representative of what constitutes the whole. The effect of this, as expressed in the society as such, is the creation of social structure that supersedes the individu
...