EMILE DURKHEIM AND HIS THEORY OF SUICIDE

Emile Durkheim was born in the after-math of the French Revolution in 1858. Modern sociologists believe that while Aguste Comte gave the subject its name and ambitious prospects; Durkheim gave it academic credibility and influence.

In 1897, he published his famous book, Suicide which is considered to be a classic text in Sociology. This book has been described as groundbreaking, because it shows an in-depth case study of suicide that revealed that there can be social causes to suicide. It was also the first book, which talked about the sociological view of suicide. According to Durkheim, suicide is not an individual act nor a personal action. It is caused by some power which is over and above the individual or super individual.

During his research for book, Durkheim looked into the differences between Protestants and Catholics. He found a lower rate of suicide among Catholics, and theorized that this was due to stronger forms of social control and cohesion among them than among Protestants.

He also found that suicide was less common among women than men, more common among single people than among those who are romantically partnered, and less common among those who have children. Further, he found that soldiers commit suicide more often than civilians, and that curiously, rates of suicide are higher during peacetime than they are during wars.

Based on what he saw in the data, Durkheim argued that suicide can be caused by social factors, not just individual psychological ones. Durkheim reasoned that social integration in particular is a factor. The more socially integrated a person is--connected to society and generally feeling that they belong and that their life makes sense within the social context--the less likely they are to commit suicide.

As social integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide.Durkheim developed a theoretical typology of suicide to explain the differing effects of social factors and how they might lead to suicide.

1)      Anomic suicide – It occurs when a person experiences anomie -- a sense of disconnection from society and a feeling of not belonging that result from weakened social cohesion.

2)      Altruistic suicide- It happens when there is excessive regulation of individuals by social forces, such that a person will be moved to kill themselves for the benefit of a cause or for society at large.

3)      Egoistic suicide happens when people feel totally detached from society

4)      Fatalistic suicide occurs under conditions of extreme social regulation that result in oppressive conditions and a denial of the self and of agency.

His theory has been criticized by many sociologists on some grounds. A sociologist named Douglas said that sometimes, families might not be honest to the police. They might tell the police that it was an accidental death, because if a person committed suicide, it was seen as a disgrace by the society.

Some sociologists believe that his theory does not define suicide properly. Their argument is that individuals place different emphasis on their actions. Individuals might react differently in different situations.

Whatever the criticisms may be, it still continues to be one of the most advanced works in the field of Sociology