The book, Suicide: A Study in Sociology by Emile Durkheim (1898), examines the likelihood of someone committing suicide based on the different levels of regulation and integration of an individual to society. Therefore, the different sections of this essay will not only examine one of Durkheim’s four different types of suicide, but will also seek to provide modern day examples of each of the different the types. Along with that, it will seek to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Durkheim’s framework, through the lenses of Max Atkinson, Jack Douglas and Stefan Timmermans. To begin with, the first type of suicide Durkheim discusses is egoistic suicide. According to Durkheim, egoistic suicide “results from lack of integration of the individual
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According to Durkheim this type of suicide is correlated with high integration into society. Therefore, people who are deeply committed to society tend to see their own lives as unimportant; they put society’s values and beliefs before their own. A modern day example would be policeman or firefighters dying in line of duty. In this case, this type of suicide can be seen as heroic, because these individuals are willing to give up their lives for what they believe in, since their profession requires them to protect and/or capture some one at all cause, they are willing to risk their all to serve their mission. With this in mind, as suggested in his book Durkheim suggested that high levels of integration led to low levels of suicide, but Jack Douglas (1967) in The Social Meanings of Suicide argued the suicide rates tend to have some biases and social construction that tend to be influenced by not only the connections of an individual such as friends and family but also coroners. In other words, an individual’s integration into society can influence the way death is classified. Therefore, this provides evidence that once again, Durkheim’s statistical reference might show flaws in the reporting of suicides. In addition, Stefan Timmermans, in his book Postmortem, also brings up the role of medical examiners and the pressure of relatives, when it comes to labeling a death as a suicide. Timmermans brings up the …show more content…
People commit this suicide when their lives are highly regulated. Durkheim only dedicates a small footnote to this type of suicide, but brings up the examples of slaves, those whose whole lives revolve around complying with orders, and the idea of being free is not an option, therefore, suicide is viewed as a way to escape reality. Nonetheless, a modern example of this would be when someone is a position such as an executive or supervisors who commit suicide based on the over demanding responsibilities and high expectations their job requires. These types of people tend to get over-worked and might see suicide as the only solution to their problems. In general, this type of suicide is a direct response to high regulation by society. Douglas in his work, suggest that there are different meaning attach to suicides. Douglas suggests that people commit suicide as a way of transforming the self; in this case one who commits the act has the possibility of transforming the substantial self of the actor (284-5). This suggests that individual commit suicide as a way to escape their realities and seek a different world. In general, Douglas makes it clear that there are different meanings behind every suicide, and the meanings come form social and cultural context, something Durkheim ignores, rather he compares rates across cultures that only
According to Durkheim this type of suicide is correlated with high integration into society. Therefore, people who are deeply committed to society tend to see their own lives as unimportant; they put society’s values and beliefs before their own. A modern day example would be policeman or firefighters dying in line of duty. In this case, this type of suicide can be seen as heroic, because these individuals are willing to give up their lives for what they believe in, since their profession requires them to protect and/or capture some one at all cause, they are willing to risk their all to serve their mission. With this in mind, as suggested in his book Durkheim suggested that high levels of integration led to low levels of suicide, but Jack Douglas (1967) in The Social Meanings of Suicide argued the suicide rates tend to have some biases and social construction that tend to be influenced by not only the connections of an individual such as friends and family but also coroners. In other words, an individual’s integration into society can influence the way death is classified. Therefore, this provides evidence that once again, Durkheim’s statistical reference might show flaws in the reporting of suicides. In addition, Stefan Timmermans, in his book Postmortem, also brings up the role of medical examiners and the pressure of relatives, when it comes to labeling a death as a suicide. Timmermans brings up the …show more content…
People commit this suicide when their lives are highly regulated. Durkheim only dedicates a small footnote to this type of suicide, but brings up the examples of slaves, those whose whole lives revolve around complying with orders, and the idea of being free is not an option, therefore, suicide is viewed as a way to escape reality. Nonetheless, a modern example of this would be when someone is a position such as an executive or supervisors who commit suicide based on the over demanding responsibilities and high expectations their job requires. These types of people tend to get over-worked and might see suicide as the only solution to their problems. In general, this type of suicide is a direct response to high regulation by society. Douglas in his work, suggest that there are different meaning attach to suicides. Douglas suggests that people commit suicide as a way of transforming the self; in this case one who commits the act has the possibility of transforming the substantial self of the actor (284-5). This suggests that individual commit suicide as a way to escape their realities and seek a different world. In general, Douglas makes it clear that there are different meanings behind every suicide, and the meanings come form social and cultural context, something Durkheim ignores, rather he compares rates across cultures that only