Professor João Gabriel introduces Émile Durkheim's theory of social facts, highlighting its importance as a core concept in sociology. He explains that Durkheim sought to understand the formation of society and construct the first sociological research object, focusing on the characteristics that define what Durkheim called 'social facts'.

The video provides a brief biography of Durkheim, a French theorist born in 1858 and deceased in 1917, who lived through the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. This period was heavily influenced by natural sciences and the rise of positivism. Durkheim is considered by some, like Raymond Aron, as the 'father of sociology' because he gave the discipline its own autonomous scientific status, a distinct method, and a specific object of research.

Durkheim's fundamental work, 'The Rules of Sociological Method,' published in 1895, is highlighted as essential reading for anyone studying sociology. In this book, Durkheim defines the sociological object and how to conduct sociological research. For Durkheim, sociology is 'the science of concrete social facts,' which are observable, measurable, and irreducible phenomena. He saw sociology as the science that studies the genesis, formation, characteristics, and elements of social institutions like family, school, and church.

Durkheim's concept of 'treating facts as things' is discussed, influenced by the objectivity and neutrality sought in natural sciences. This means studying social phenomena without personal biases or preconceptions. Examples like violence, inequality, education, and marriage are presented as undeniable social facts whose existence is not up for debate regarding their morality or an individual's personal preference.

The first characteristic of social facts is 'exteriority' or 'anteriority.' Social facts are external to individuals and pre-exist them. They are created by society through its institutions before any individual's conscious awareness or participation. For instance, the institution of marriage existed long before any individual decided to get married.

The second characteristic is 'coercion.' Social facts exert pressure on individuals through norms, rules, and punishments, primarily instilled through education and socialization processes. These impositions operate in all social spaces, from schools to homes, and individuals who infringe upon these norms are subject to sanctions.

The third characteristic is 'generality.' Social facts are widespread and common, not exceptional. They occur in various societies and places simultaneously. Examples such as different forms of marriage, education systems, violence, and inequality are universal phenomena, observable and measurable through statistics, as Durkheim demonstrated in his study 'Suicide'.

The video concludes by reiterating that social facts are the object of sociological research for Durkheim, focusing on the genesis and characteristics of social institutions. A direct quote from 'The Rules of Sociological Method' is provided, defining a social fact as 'any way of acting, whether fixed or not, capable of exercising over the individual an external constraint; or, which is general over the whole of a given society, whilst having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations.' This quote encapsulates the three main characteristics: exteriority, coercion, and generality, emphasizing society's overarching influence on the individual.