Critics believe that the study is littered with what statisticians describe as Ecological fallacy. Whereby, a singular event such as suicide in individuals is presented in a generalized manner; suicide rate in Protestants and Catholics. It is without a doubt that Emile Durkheim has been established as the one of fathers of sociology yet his success and methodologies have been of continual debate comparative to that of his fellow co-founders. The following discussion reflects on Emile Durkheim research in suicide and takes into light its assimilation to Durkheim’s sociological concepts.
The main argument starts with Durkheim who explains that sociology can be a science. Durkheim uses the example of suicide and how we can study such a personal and individual act in an objective manner using statistics. From his studies of suicides Durkheim found that there were patterns in the suicide rate which meant that the act wasn’t a product of the individuals motives but instead a social fact. The suicide therefore had to be a result of wider social forces which we have no control over. Durkheim went on to explain that the social facts responsible for determining the suicide rate were the levels of integration and regulation an individual has in a society.
For Dalrymple, the overdose is the easiest way to relieve the crisis in their lives. I see the nature of the suicides and attempted suicides in the U.S. as being part of a greater philosophical debate. It is the question which was so often debated by such existentialist philosophers like Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sarte, and Franz Kafka. They argued that when life breaks down to the point where it is rendered meaningless, the only question that is left, is whether or not to commit suicide. I feel that the absurd reality that surrounds the youth of our present day underclass, while not absolving them of any responsibility for their actions, can be viewed as viable source of the crisis.
Most common example used with this outlook on defiance is suicide. There are three forms of suicide that can happen from these dimensions. There is suicide from self interest and norms of society. Also death for the good of the group such as someone sacrificing their body to become a human bomb. Lastly suicide from not fitting in or lack of ties to one’s group.
In police culture, it is more powerfully stigmatized and viewed as a “coward’s way out” (Dahl, 2010). Dr. John Violanti highlights this perspective: "...police officers traditionally subscribe to a myth of indestructibility; they view suicide as particularly disgraceful to the victim officer and to the profession" (1995). What are the facts, impediments to treatment, and potential warning signs of police officer suicide? What is being done in our police departments to address this issue? What are potential solutions?
Content Book 1 – Extra Social Factors Suicide and Psychopathic states: Durkheim, as mentioned in the introduction, conducted the study of suicide to prove that it was social, rather than extra social factors that influenced suicide. The first extra social factor, to which suicide was mostly attributed to is insanity. Durkheim investigated this theory and pointed out that if suicide was caused by a certain insanity then this would be termed as ‘monomania’ – in Durkheim’s words, “a delirium of localized nature” that is, a person is otherwise normal but has sudden desires to drink or use abusive language. It was believed that a sudden emotional disturbance was enough to provoke monomania. However, Durkheim rejected this theory for two reasons; one, there is no concrete proof to show the existence of monomania, second, mental functions are completely dependent on one another, and insanity is present in one area, then it should also be present in another as well, that is if insanity affects one function it should affect at the other functions as well.
The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label." – Howard Becker, 1963. Labeling theory has its roots in Emile Durkheims studies into suicide where he expressed the view that deviance and crime is not so much about a specific violation of a penal code but more of an act that differs exceptionally from the social norm. Many people are labeled deviant even if they have not broken a specific law or even committed a crime. Society generally labels an individual as deviant if they differ from the social norms in appearance or behavior.
Oregon’s DWDA is an example of assisted suicide; not to be confused with euthanasia. Assisted suicide is the process by which an individual, who may otherwise be incapable, is provided with the means (drugs or equipment) to commit suicide. This differs from euthanasia in that, assisted suicide, the individual performs the critical action and in euthanasia, the life ending decision is made and/or performed by a third party. The United States seems to have strong opposition against assisted suicide;
To further examine the data the utilitarian ethics approach will be used. It is important to remember that utilitarian ethics considers the consequences of actions. Indentify the Problem: Assisted suicide is it ethical or unethical? Is it right for a physician to assist a patient to kill themselves? This is the main focus of assisted suicide and the justification of the situation has been at debate for a long time.
Durkheim’s study on suicide is viewed as a well-known paradigm in sociological studies. The purpose of this essay is to explain how Durkheim was able to show the social causes of suicide through the analysis of statistics across several countries (Hassan, 1998). Durkheim chose to study suicide because in the 19th century sociology was not entirely recognised as an area of academic interest (Finchman, Langer, Scourfield & Shiner, 2011). In addition to this, Durkheim wanted to show that suicide was not just an individual act and that sociology played a part. This essay also intends to explore how Durkheim was able to