In my essay I will be describing an aspect of contemporary society, suicide, through the ideas of Emile Durkheim. Durkheim was a French social scientist and philosopher, born in Epinal in 1858 and died 1917 in Paris. [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Durkheim]. He was fascinated by suicide, and wrote a book Suicide: A Study in Sociology. The book deeply examines suicide and reveals that there can be social causes to suicide. Durkheim emphasises that everyone needs a certain level of human interaction. Through Durkheim’s research we see how the reasons behind suicide can vary. Durkheim firstly analysed Catholics and Protestants, and found a lower rate of suicide among Catholics. He speculated that this was because of stronger forms
…show more content…
Durkheim concluded that social mingling was an important factor. The more social connections a person has, if they felt like they belong and were wanted by others the less likely they are to commit suicide. Durkheim put together theories explaining different effects of social factors and how they may influence a person to commit suicide, these factors are Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic and Fatalistic Suicide. According to Durkheim, Egoistic suicide is caused by the failure of social and familial relationships. It occurs when a person feels totally detached from his/her society. When the bond that usually conjoins individuals into a group (work, tradition, family) weaken the person is more likely to commit suicide. During his research, Durkheim discovered that elderly people who lose ties have high rates of …show more content…
According to Durkheim, people are more likely to commit suicide if they do not have close-knit relationships in their community. After studying Durkheim’s ideas and thoughts on suicide, I gained understanding of the reasons behind a person’s personal choice to commit suicide something I had previously struggled to comprehend. Durkheim stated many different reasons that influence a person’s choice, with social factors playing a fundamental role.
References
Anon., n.d. What are Emile Durkheims four Types of Suicide , s.l.: Act For Libraries.
Crossman, A., 2017. The Study of Suicide by Emile Durkheim, s.l.: s.n.
Durkheim, E., 1951. Suicide; A Study in Sociology. London: The Free Press.
Foxe, K., 2016. Suicide: The figures, s.l.: RTE News.
Durkheim concluded that social mingling was an important factor. The more social connections a person has, if they felt like they belong and were wanted by others the less likely they are to commit suicide. Durkheim put together theories explaining different effects of social factors and how they may influence a person to commit suicide, these factors are Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic and Fatalistic Suicide. According to Durkheim, Egoistic suicide is caused by the failure of social and familial relationships. It occurs when a person feels totally detached from his/her society. When the bond that usually conjoins individuals into a group (work, tradition, family) weaken the person is more likely to commit suicide. During his research, Durkheim discovered that elderly people who lose ties have high rates of …show more content…
According to Durkheim, people are more likely to commit suicide if they do not have close-knit relationships in their community. After studying Durkheim’s ideas and thoughts on suicide, I gained understanding of the reasons behind a person’s personal choice to commit suicide something I had previously struggled to comprehend. Durkheim stated many different reasons that influence a person’s choice, with social factors playing a fundamental role.
References
Anon., n.d. What are Emile Durkheims four Types of Suicide , s.l.: Act For Libraries.
Crossman, A., 2017. The Study of Suicide by Emile Durkheim, s.l.: s.n.
Durkheim, E., 1951. Suicide; A Study in Sociology. London: The Free Press.
Foxe, K., 2016. Suicide: The figures, s.l.: RTE News.