The Social Pathology Of Suicide By Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim was one of the most influential people to write about suicide and its causes. Suicide had previously been thought to be a moral and psychological problem whereas Durkheim related suicide to sociological problems in modern society. He believed and worked to prove that suicide was not related to individualism but linked to the effects of the external influences of modern society. External social influences upon an individual covered the broad and varied aspects such as culture, religion and family. Durkheim believed that suicide was directly related to the level of social integration and/or regulation of a person in society. He developed groups into which an individual was categorised according to their level of integration

“Suicide may be a way of expressing grievances. To this extent, it can be explained with a theory of social control. The central task of a theory of social control is to explain why, given that a conflict occurs, it is handled in one way and not another” (Manning,

Feelings of isolation have been linked to higher suicide rates. Durkheim’s study on suicide during the industrial revolution supports this theory as he states that, “people were increasingly disconnected from their communities and that this social upheaval had a greater effect on suicide rates than other factors like wealth” (Winner & Collishaw, 2011). Interestingly enough, despite the increase of media attention on suicide, no studies have been published that explain why suicide rates vary among different groups. However, various factors are involved in the decision to commit suicide. As a result, suicide rates vary according to race, gender and age.

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess different sociological explanations of suicide. (21 marks)

Durkheim’s theories and work on suicide classified the phenomenon into four types; Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic and Fatalistic (Ritzer Pg 200-202). Durkheim’s concept of social integration ties into egoistic suicide as it

Every year, there are many people who commit suicide commonly due to depression. Suicide is a big issue for the Catholic Church and approximately one million people die worldwide each year. The Catholic Church is against suicide, but they will bury those who commit suicide knowing that God will judge that person. Since suicide is a mortal sin, the Church did not allow people who commit suicide to be buried in the Church, but the Church now understands what pain the victim is going through and allows them to be buried and encourages others to pay attention to the pain that causes the death and help others that has that pain. The Catholic Church teaches that only God can judge suicide victims, that we should help others with suicidal thoughts, and that suicide is not always a mortal sin.

The topic of suicide can easily become uncomfortable when discussing. Thoughts of family or friends using a permanent solution to a temporary problem is hard to grasp. Why would an individual choose to do this? Did it stem from personal reasons or was it fueled by a number of out-siding factors. Using Sociology we can decipher human behavior and gain an insight into a global issue .

In The Politics of Suicide, Maria Teresa Brancaccio, Eric J. Engstrom, and David Lederer investigate and unravel the conceptualization and operationalization of suicide in the years leading up the Emile Durkheim. It wasn’t until the age of the Enlightenment that the concept of taking one’s own life was deemed worthy of scientific analysis (Brancaccio, Engstrom, & Lederer, 2013). It was during this time that police, physicians, and mental health care providers began to determine the indicators of such potential behaviors and began to see such rising trends as modern social dilemma (2013).

According to Item A, suicides are based on coroner’s interpretations and differ across cultures as Danish coroner's base their verdicts on probability rather than English coroners who must find evidence to support their verdict as suicide. Durkheim identifies the difference in suicide rates across cultures and societies. Durkheim defines suicide as “all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from positive or negative act of the victim himself”. He used suicide to demonstrate that positivistic and scientific methods of researching social topics was possible whereas interpretivists argue that to understand the

Despite religious groups disapproval of physician assisted suicide, some patients may suffer emotional distress due to their physical state. A reason many people may disagree on assisted suicide is that people’s religious beliefs are against the practice. Religious institutions believe an individual should not commit suicide, instead they need to die as a result of their illness. Roman

Durkheim does not see egoism, altruism, anomie and fatalism as types of suicide, but types of social structure that highlight the presence or lack of integration and regulation. It must be stressed that this excess/lack of integration and regulation are not seen as direct causes of suicide, rather Durkheim sees a number of voluntary deaths in society as inevitable; integration and regulation are merely prophylactic to suicidal impulses, which when taken to excess or dramatically reduced, fail to act as a preventative, and so suicides occur. This clarification is an important strength of Durkheim’s theory: it allows the biography of the individuals who kill themselves to vary, while still explaining underlying pressures/lack of to explain their deaths, and the varying suicide rates between groups.

Furthermore, social scientists have not been too involved in the topic of suicide. Since 1990-2009 there have not been many article on the topic and the disinterest can derive from the presumption that suicide is a lonesome act. The article “Suicide and the Creative Class,” states that, “Durkheim ([1897] 2006) illustrated that suicide is a social phenomenon by stating that levels of integration and

Assisted suicide is an ongoing affair that has gained relevance due to recent events. For example, Brittany Maynard who decided to take her own life on November 1, 2014 at the age of 29. This caused a major uproar in the United States, much of America was split between the decision of Maynard, those who supported her cause were for the Death with Dignity Law, while the opposing crowd were a variety of religious organizations that condemned Maynard for advocating such cause. This dilemma has defy the beliefs of many Americans, and it appears to be a continuation of church versus state. In today’s age there seems to be a separation of religion in the modern home, and this has caused a major shift in how we evaluate things. Instead of looking to the church for guidance, we are using technology and science to validate our values.

“Suicide is a fundamental human right. This does not mean that it is morally desirable. It only means that society does not have the moral right to interfere” -Thomas S Szasz

Traditionally, suicide was thought to be a purely individual decision but French sociologist Emile Durkheim recognized that the phenomenon had a social dimension. He believed in the influence of society on the individual and that if anything can explain that relation, it is suicide. His use of the data of suicide, not specific cases and reports, to study the societal trends reveals his true subject of study: society as a whole and its role in the individual experience. Durkheim uses the study of suicide via the quantitative methodological approach as a tool to study society as a broader whole.