David Émile Durkheim, born on April 15th 1858, is known as one of the founding fathers of the study of sociology and is long admired for his awe-inspiring studies in suicidology. Durkheim vividly wrote about his theories of suicide which included how diverse social and cultural elements, mainly integration and regulation, played a monumental role in the different types of suicide. This essay will endeavour to explore Durkheim’s theories on egoism, altruism, fatalism and anomie and highlight my understanding of said material.
Suicide due to social integration can be categorised and compared into two different types of suicide: altruism and egoism. Altruism, which involves people being excessively socially integrated, took place throughout history in various ancient societies and indeed in modern societies. According to Steven Stack from the Centre of Suicide Research, altruistic suicides ‘occur in social groups where there is a low value placed on the individual’ (Stack, 2004). This occurred hugely in ancient societies, for example: when a widow would have committed suicide on the death of her recently deceased husband in order to retain the traditions/values of her society. Needless to say, this type of suicide still occurs in modern society, most commonly in suicide bombings or suicidal terrorist attacks, the most notable being the 9/11 attack. Scott Atran states that ‘80 percent of suicide attacks since 1968 occurred after the September 11 attacks’ (Atran, 2006) which shows this form of suicide that Durkheim wrote about in great detail still occurs to this day, thus supporting his explanation of altruism, and has become more common, contradicting his theory on societal patterns changing.
Egoism, the opposite to altruism, involves individuals being insufficiently socially integrated. A prime example of this would be individuals who are single. According to Durkheim, ‘the unmarried seem to commit suicide less than married people’ (Durkheim, 2006) but that we have to consider that a large amount of ‘unmarried are less than 16 years old’ (Durkheim, 2006). So by removing away the unmarried under 16, there would be more suicides among the unmarried over the age of 16. What I draw from this is that single people, over the age of 16, appear to be less socially integrated than that of married people, thus affecting their mental health. However, egoism is more complicated than just being single. Durkheim states that the ‘aptitude of Jews for suicide is always less than that of Protestants’ (Durkheim, 1951), concluding that the reason behind this is because the Protestants were more individual. It is through his explanations in his writings that I have developed and comprehended egoism.
Suicide due to moral regulation can also be categorised and compared into two different types of suicide: anomie and fatalism. Fatalism can be defined as ‘ “futures pitilessly blocked and passions violently choked by oppressive discipline”’ (Dohrenwend, 1959). This occurred more often in the past in terms of slavery among the African-Americans but still occurs in modern society in areas such as prisons or concentration camps. Fatalism is the type of suicide that is often overlooked by scholars but, nevertheless, describes what would drive individuals to take their own lives due to societal discipline.
The opposite to fatalism is anomie. Bruce P. Dohrenwend states that ‘Anomie is categorised by Durkheim as a state of “deregulation”in the social aggregate’ (Dohrenwend, 1959). In the beginning, I found this type of suicide quite challenging to understand. In Durkheim’s book “Suicide: A Study in Sociology” , he compares the suicide rates between Jews, Catholics and Protestants. Among this research, as previously discussed, he found that Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than both Jews and Catholics. It was the Protestants individuality that made them ‘less likely to develop communal ties… which in turn made them more susceptible to suicide’ (Nicki Lisa Cole, 2017). It was through Durkheim’s research into the suicide rates of these religions that assisted me in fully comprehending what this particular type of suicide involves.
Through various platforms such as books, websites and journals, I have developed a more satisfactory understanding of suicide as a whole. I previously had a more generalised view of suicide but through Durkheim’s research I have developed a broader sense of knowledge in this aspect. Through his concepts of altruism and egoism, I learned that humans can be suicidal because of both immoderate and inadequate social integration and moral regulation. With the help of Durkheim’s research in understanding the main four types of suicide, I am still left with the unanswered question: will modern society find a balance between social integration and moral regulation to end suicide?