Final answer:
Durkheim believed that society was external to the individual and that social forces, called social facts, existed outside of the individual and influenced the functioning of society.
Step-by-step explanation:
Durkheim believed that society was external to the individual. He argued that social forces, which he called social facts, existed outside of the individual and had a real impact on the functioning of society. These social facts included laws, morals, values, and cultural rules that governed social life. Durkheim believed that studying these social facts was necessary to understand how society operates and maintains social order.