Abstract: Durkheim’s early work on the theory of “society” was in response to the predicament in reality caused by the abstract individualism which had evolved from the doctrine of natural rights represented by Rousseau. There were two specific aspects in the predicament.First,lack of cohesiveness inFrench politics and society after the Revolutionindicated that political revolution or reform guided by Rousseau’s doctrine of natural rights had not only caused failure in the political ideals of social contracts but also a disordered society. Second, bankruptciesof industrial and commercial enterprises and the conflicts between employers and employees resulting from the development of modern industry that came along with the Revolution alsoindicated that the abstract naturalrights led people down into anomie situations instead of bringing them social welfare. As seen by Durkheim, all of these rooted inthe moral dilemma of an abstract personalityhypothesis since Rousseau.
To overcome this moral dilemma of abstract personality, Durkheim learned from Comte and recognized that “society” was more fundamental than politics, i.e., a political system was simply an expression of the social system at a particular stage of civilization.Based on this, Durkheim followed the tradition of the social sciences in France and incorporated the argument onle corps social from SaintSimon, Comte, and Spencer, trying to dispute the natural rights’ view of social artificiality and demonstrate that human rights originated in society. Moreover, from the perspective of the collective conscience, Durkheim demonstratedthe spiritual characteristics of society, and on this basis,explainedhow to rebuild the moral authorityin modern secular society.
In the final section, this paper discusses the problems from the incompleteness in Durkheim’s early theoretical framework, i.e., the way by which individuals got connected to society.

Key words: abstract personality , collective conscience , le corps social , natural rights