Emile Durkheim Theories Of Suicide

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Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist born in 1858. He is known for being one of the main founders of modern sociology. Emile Durkheim is credited with making sociology a science and did lots of research which still stands today. Durkheim claimed that human societies could be studied scientifically. Durkheim published a book called “Suicide” along with many others, which were all very influential. In these works he analysed many social institutions and the roles that they all play in society and the varied social facts associated with them, in particular in “Suicide” Durkheim explored the differing rates of suicide among Protestants and Catholics. Emile Durkheim’s discovery of social facts significantly contributed to society as it made it …show more content…

They are; Anomic suicide, this occurs when a person feels disconnected from society and experiences a feeling of not belonging, the person may feel so disconnected from society that they choose to commit suicide. Altruistic suicide, this happens when a person kills themselves for the benefit pf a society, for example for religion. This occurs when people are very strongly integrated into social expectations. Egoistic suicide, this is experienced when a person was originally integrated with society through a family bond but the loss of a family member weakens such bonds and increases the chance of egoistic suicide occurring. Finally Fatalistic suicide is when a person may find themselves in a situation where they choose to die rather than endure such a situation. Durkheim’s theoretical typology of the different classifications of suicide really helped me understand suicide in such contemporary societies and how it affected the people living in that society in such different ways and how the social factors influenced the suicide