The Social Pathology Of Suicide By Emile Durkheim

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.

“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

The act of intentionally killing oneself, also known as suicide, has often been referred to as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The great social theorist, Emile Durkheim, once stated that, “Each victim of suicide gives his act a personal stamp which expresses his temperament, the special conditions in which he is involved, and which, consequently, cannot be explained by the social and general causes of the phenomenon.” (Durkheim). This social phenomenon was studied and scientifically researched by Durkheim in order to discover and break the social causes and theories that allowed for its existence. While suicide is an uncomfortable subject to discuss, it has become extremely prevalent in all cultures and society- we have yet to escape this social issue. Although suicide affects those of all ages, the rates of suicide amongst the youth and young adults (aged 15-24) have nearly tripled in the past half century. Has this epidemic increased due to social media? Is it just a “trend” amongst this generation? Were Durkheim’s theories on the subject correct? These are just a few of the many questions that arise when considering the increasing rates of suicide among today’s youth. This research paper will examine the definitions and types of suicide in Durkheim’s studies, the current suicide rates and statistics, and most importantly, the contributing factors of suicidal tendencies in today’s world of youth and adolescents.

Suicide by Émile Durkheim is well known text in sociology that is extensively taught to students within the field. Suicide was published in 1897, the work is considered cutting-edge both for showing detailed research of suicide that revealed there can and is social causes to suicide. Based on Durkheim’s research he said that suicide can be caused by social factors, not just individual psychological ones. Durkheim reasoned that being apart of society and integrated into groups in particular is a main factor. The more involved in society and connected to others the less likely they are to commit suicide. As this sense of belonging decreases suicide increases. Durkheim’s theory is formulated by four types of suicide (Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic,

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

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.

“Suicide is applied to 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 34). Suicide is a phenomenon that has plagued our world since the beginning of time. It currently accounts for the second leading cause of death in people ages ten to twenty-four years old (Garni Powerpoint). This means of ending your own life is something we can prevent as a society. If we can eliminate societal pressures and stereotypes we can all be treated equally. All suicides during a certain time period are grouped together, when in all reality we should be treating each situation as it’s own. Durkheim states “...with it’s own unity, individuality, and consequently its own nature- a nature, furthermore, dominantly social”.

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

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

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.

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

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

When people hear the word “suicide” they automatically think of something gloomy and something that is shameful. But assisted suicide is different, it is more like helping someone make a choice. The choice is does a person want to suffer for as long as possible or does a person want to have a choice to end their life on their own terms. Assisted suicide is a person with an incurable disease who wants to die. It is a use of lethal drugs provided by a doctor. It is more about what the person in this situation wants than what the government thinks. There are so many different aspects that go into this global issue but this essay is going to focus on government involvement, religion, and legalizing suicide. It is not about the right to die but

“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,

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.