Durkheim identified and affirmed his work in relation to the extra-social causes of suicide by the use of argument by elimination (Durkheim, 1897; Jones, 1986). Lukes (1972) found that this logical fallacy, petitio principii, was a feature of Durkheim’s work as a whole. Although he concludes this may be more damaging to the presentation of his ideas than to the quality of his ideas. This brought up criticisms as it was viewed that the method was self-serving at times (Jones, 1986). He dismissed pathological states as a cause, as he found that variations in suicide rates within the same type were vast, which supported his view that variations were down to the civilization of individuals (Jones, 1986). He also dismissed cosmic factors as a factor, …show more content…
He questioned the validity of the suicide statistics Durkheim used, as he said that suicide verdicts are like criminal statistics, meaning that they are a product of interactions and negotiations between the families, doctors and coroners involved. Durkheim acknowledged the unsoundness of the statistics used, but at the time there were little statistical techniques so he had to fashion them as he went along (Simpson, 1952). He argued that suicide rates were social constructs not social facts, which is an argument reminiscent of Atkinson’s (1978) which will be developed later in the essay. He also objected Durkheim’s work on the basis of the causation. He put forward an interesting argument on this front, detailing that, contrary to what Durkheim stated, high levels of integration does not prevent suicide rather it affects the probability of the death being categorized as a suicide as friends and family can conceal it, due to the social stigma at the time (Douglas, 1967). On this same basis he discredited Durkheim conclusion that because suicide rates were lower in Catholic countries than in Protestant countries, that therefore integration, or in this case lack of, caused suicide, as the Catholic religion placed a greater emphasis on community. Douglas attributed this to the fact that in Catholicism, suicide is a mortal sin and thus many suicides would not have been
Durkheim’s concept of social integration refers to social groups with well-defined values, traditions, norms, and goals. These groups will differ in the degree to which individuals are part of the collective body, also to the extent to which the group is emphasized over the individual, and lastly the level to which the group is unified versus fragmented. Durkheim believed that two types of suicide, Egoistic and Altruistic, could stem from social integration. Egoistic suicide resulted from too little social integration. Those people who were not sufficiently bound to a social group would be left with little or no social support in times of crisis. This caused them to commit suicide more often. An example Durkheim discovered was that of unmarried people, especially males, who, with less to connect them to stable social groups, committed suicide at higher rates than married people. Altruistic suicide is a result of too much integration. It occurs at the opposite end of the social integration scale as egoistic suicide. Self sacrifice appears to be the driving force, where people are so involved with a social group that they lose sight of themselves and become more willing to take one for the team, even if this causes them to die. The most common cases of altruistic suicide occur to soldiers during times of war. Religious cults have also been a major source of altruistic suicide.
According to Durkheim, two types of suicide arise from the different levels social integration. One cause of suicide is extremely low social integration, which is referred to as egoistic suicide. Durkheim argues that this is the case because others give the individual’s life meaning, so without this support from the group the person may feel hopeless (Conley 188). The other type of suicide, altruistic suicide, reflects the opposite situation: when an individual is too socially integrated (Conley 189). This type of suicide occurs when members of a group or community become so totally engrossed by the group tha...
According to Durkheim, studying individual reasons for an action is psychology’s concern, not sociology (Durkheim, Suicide, 35). Weber would argue that the individuals are what make up a society, and thus, they should be the ones to be studied since their meaningful social actions are the ones that impact the society as a whole. Weber states, “Action in the sense of subjectively understandable orientation of behavior exists only as the behavior of one or more individual human beings” (Weber, Basic Sociological Terms, 3). In the case of suicide, Weber would argue that we must take the generalities within Durkheim’s theory into consideration, but then go beyond that. It would be more thorough to analyze the individual cases within different societies to derive a clear understanding of the motives people have behind the act of suicide. Weber would also utilize his concept of verstehen, to gain an explanatory understanding of the subjective
Suicide is the eleventh most common cause of death in the United States. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a person takes their own life once every fourteen minutes in the United States (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2011). Still, with suicide rates so high, suicide is a taboo topic in our society. Though suicide is intended to end one person’s pain, it causes an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering to loved ones close to the deceased.
In 1897, Emile Durkheim (1997) showed that the suicide – perhaps the most personal of all decisions – could be analysed through the conceptual lenses of sociology.
Emile Durkheim is a French sociologist who investigated suicide and the connection to society using the functionalist perspective. He talks about solidarity being a component of suicide. The less people that an individual has a connection to the more likely they are to consider taking their own life. Belonging to a social group can increase the sense of belonging that people have in their everyday life. Social stratification is a factor of whether someone feels like they belong in a group or not.
Suicide and the Predictions of Suicide In the first paper I read about hopelessness and eventual suicide, four authors studied 207 hospitalized patients with suicidal ideation. There was a follow up period of 5-10 years when these patients were systematically checked up on to see their status. Fourteen eventually completed suicide within the follow up period. In the study the researchers used the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hopelessness Scale, and the Scale of Suicidal Ideation.
This paper is a critical review of the French sociologist Emil Durkheim and his writings on suicide from his book titled ‘Suicide’ written in 1897. Durkheim was seen as a positivist and functionalist. In his book, Durkheim’s goal was to study people’s tendencies towards suicide and to determine the social causes behind them. Suicide, which Durkheim defined as ‘all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result’ (Durkheim, 1987).
A Study of Suicide: An overview of the famous work by Emile Durkheim, Ashley Crossman, 2009, http://sociology.about.com/od/Works/a/Suicide.htm, 25/12/2013
... the evidence changed in his later works). He has been widely criticised for his use of official statistics, which are open to interpretation and subject to possibly systematic misreporting, and therefore may not represent the true pattern or rates of suicide. It is also argued that he was confused between the distinction between egoism and anomie, and that he failed to substantiate his claims of the existence of altruism and fatalism; this is argued to such an extent that it has even been suggested that there is only one cause of suicide (egoism) that Durkheim could claim to be true. However, whilst acknowledging some of Durkheim’s own contradictions or confusions, some sociologists have gone on to develop and substantiate the ideas that he developed, and there is no denying that his study of suicide is a far-reaching and legacy-building work of substantial value.
Sociological Imagination is being aware of relationships between personal experience and the wider society. Sociology takes a unique, astounding, and enlightening viewpoint on social events. Suicide is known as a supremely antisocial individual act. When people think about individuals committing suicide their more likely to look at their individual state of mind rather than the state society has on them. French sociologist Emilie Durkheim showed that suicide is more than just an individual act, suffering from psychological disorder but are also influenced by social forces. Durkheim believed people with a high degree of agreement are more likely to not be suicidal compared to those who had a low degree of solidarity. To support this argument Durkheim expressed that married couples are likely to live a happy life with no suicidal feelings rather than those who were unmarried as marriage creates social ties and moral cement which bind the individuals to society. We do not only live in society but society also lives in us. For example Social relations affect us all in many different ways. It plays with our
puts it: “…though death alone can put a full period to his misery, he dare not…a vain fear left he offend his Maker” (On Suicide, p.55). On his famous paper “On Suicide”, he defends the act of suicide and concludes that suicide is at least sometimes permissible. This paper will examine the essay itself in depth and counter argues about his view since the commitment of suicide deprives us from the future possibilities.
Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide: A Study in Sociology. (J. A. Spaulding, & G. Simpson, Trans.)
Although sociologists like J.D. Douglas would question the reliability of the statistics, due to the coroners decision being final, most sociologists would agree that Durkheim's study into suicide was successful, and indeed many have tried to develop and improve on his theory. Overall, this essay has shown that one type of methodology may not always be suitable for the particular research carried out. Both Interpretative sociology and the Positivist approach equally show that they are valid methods for carrying out research, but like everything, nothing is one hundred percent accurate. Therefore, there is always room for flaw, but in the study of Sociology, there is always room for more ways of obtaining and interpreting data.
Another complication in analysing causes of suicide is the variation between cases. Some will be clearly planned events, with finances and family situations adjusted beforehand, notes written. Others will be on the spur of the moment, with difficulty establishing whether it was deliberate or accidental. Some will be violent, immediate acts whilst others will be drawn out affairs with low lethality (dependent on availablilty of help). Most importantly, some individuals will not succeed – or chillingly, not at first. One of the greatest predictors for completed suicide is attempted previous suici...