Conclusion
Sociology is the "intersection between biography and history" (C. Mills).
- Highly personal/sensitive individual choices follow general trends set by society.
- Free will is subject to the "collective current" of society.
Critics of this study focused on:
- Unreliable corroner calssifications of suicide.
- Simpson's Paradox when relating micro and macro events.
Bibliography
- Giddens, Anthony Sociology (7th Edition), London: Polity Press
- Dervic, Kanita, Maria A. Oquendo, Michael F. Grunebaum, Steve Ellis, Ainsley K. Burke, and J. John Mann. "Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt." American Journal of Psychiatry AJP 161.12 (2004): 2303-308. Web.
- "Exploration of Durkheim's Suicide." Exploration of Durkheim's Suicide. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
The Legacy
The Results
Despite varrying suicide rates between countries general social trends influence the individuals tendency for suicide based on Social Integration and Social Regulation.
Four Types of Suicide:
- Egoistic Suicide (Isolated from society)
- Altruistic Suicide (Over-Integrated in Society)
- Fatalistic Suicide (Overly-regulated by society)
- Anomic Suicide (Instabillity in society)
- Modern studies emulating Durkheim's case study.
- Regional sightings of suicide bombers as Altruistic suicides.
- Founding of new forms of sociological study based on hard facts and evidence.
- Complete seperation of sociology from the field of psychology.
The Man
The Case
- Is there a difference between individual choice and societal trends?
- Is free-will dictated by the laws and cultural norms of society?
Factors studied:
- Gender
- Religion
- Relathionship status
- Wealth
- Political/Economic State
- French Sociologist (1858-1917).
- Considered one of the forefathers of modern sociology.
- Unlike Comte attempted to firmly place sociology as an empirical science and not just a means of theorizing and thinking of society.
- "Study social facts as things!"
- Achieved this through his "Suicide" a study of an indvidual choice through societal influences.
- Perfect example of sociological imagination.
Durkheim's Suicide
(and the Sociological Implications Behind it)