Emile Durkheim
(1858-1917)
The Study of Suicide (1897)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
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Along with the
German Max Weber,
one of the most
notable sociologists of
the early 20th century
 French
 In some ways, fulfilled
Comte’s dream of a
scientific sociology
Durkheim cont’d.
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He was the last of the
Social Darwinists and
the first of the
functionalists
 Centered many of his
beliefs around the
notion of “function”
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FUNCTIONALISM
 All elements of society
have positive
functions and
contribute to the
maintenance of the
social structure
 Society is a relatively
stable structure of
elements
Durkheim cont’d.

Durkheim is
considered the first
social researcher
 He wrote The Rules of
the Sociological
Method (1895), the
first research methods
textbook

He conducted the first
sociological study– his
classic study of
Suicide (1897)
 He developed the term
ANOMIE, defined as
a condition of
normlessness or
absence of norms (and
thus, stability)
The Study of Suicide (1897)

Durkheim chose to study suicide for several
reasons:
 1. He wanted to demonstrate the usefulness of
sociology in understanding human behavior
 2. Little was known about the subject and he was
interested in the topic
 3. Data was readily available (death records, etc.)
making the study fairly easy to conduct
Durkheim’s Variables
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Based on what was available, Durkheim centered
his study on several variables and how they
influenced the suicide rate
A. Gender– male/female
B. Religion– Catholics/Protestants
C. Military Status– military personnel /civilians
D. Economy– good/poor
E. National Status– wartime/peacetime
A Brief Discussion of Variables
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There are generally two types of variables:
Independent Variables (the “cause”) and
Dependent Variables (the “effect)
independent variables “cause” a change in the rate
of the dependent variable
If A affects B, A is the I.V., B is the D.V.
In Durkheim’s study, the suicide rate is always the
dependent variable. Ex: The suicide rate for
males will be different than if one is female. The
I.V. Gender has thus affected the suicide rate
(D.V.)
Four Basic Research Methods
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There are four basic methods of research in
sociology:
1. Survey research
--questionnaires/interviews
**2. Analysis of Existing Sources (document
studies)
3. Observational Studies
4. Experimentation
**Durkheim had to choose this method… why?
Findings in Suicide

Who had a higher rate of suicide,
 A. Men or Women?
 B. Catholics or Protestants?
 C. Military personnel or Civilians?
 D. People living in a good or poor
economy?
 E. People in wartime or peacetime?
ANSWERS:
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Men– more violent, more isolated than women
physically and emotionally
Protestants– more detached in faith; personal
relationship with God vs. rigid Catholic church
hierarchy
Military Personnel– more violent, more sacrificial
to the needs of others– to the point of giving one’s
life
Poor economic times– money issues cause need to
escape problems
Peacetime– social unity occurs in wartime– not
detachment– people are more individualistic in
peacetime and thus more detached
Conclusions
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Durkheim concluded that there were four distinct
types of suicide:
1. Egoistic– due to emotional detachment (loners,
friendless people, isolated individuals)
2. Anomic– due to normlessness (no apparent
escape, no way to change situations)
3. Altruistic– due to a “higher cause” or purpose
(terrorism, kamikaze pilots, God’s call, etc.)
4. Fatalistic– due to a lack of hope (terminally ill
people, etc.)
Final Thoughts/Critique
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Be able to name examples of each type…
CRITIQUE of the study:
Types are not “mutually exclusive”– a suicide may
be the result of several types in combination
Hard to determine the type associated with an
actual suicide
Take an elderly man who has just lost his
wife…and takes his own life. His suicide may
occur for any of the above reasons or some
combination of them– see if you can figure out the
possibilities…
For the first study in sociology, it is a masterpiece!
For more info, see article at:
http://www.relst.uiuc.edu/durk
heim/Summaries/suicide.html