<P> A social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestations . </P> <P> One of the book's challenges is in showing how individual and seemingly chaotic decisions are in fact a result of a larger, more structured system, the pattern being held together by "social facts". </P> <P> The definition of social facts illustrates the holistic paradigm in which Durkheim's social facts are defined by two main features: they are external to and coercive to individuals . They not only represent behaviour but also the rules that govern behaviour and give it meaning . Social facts have been not only accepted by, but have been adopted by society as rules to which they choose to follow . Law, language, morality and marriage are all examples of ideals formed through individual thought that have manifested into these concrete institutions which we must now abide by . Social facts can be constraining: if individuals do not do act as they dictate, they may face social penalties . The binding nature of social facts is often implicit, because the rules of society are internalized by individuals in the process of education and socialization . </P> <P> Durkheim distinguished two types of social facts: normal social facts--which, within a society, occur regularly and most often--and pathological social facts--which are much less common . </P>

Who wrote the first methods text in sociology