Émile Durkheim, in his book Suicide (1897), explores the concept of suicide and starts by

clarifying how it should be defined. To understand and explain any phenomenon, he believes
we need to first classify and compare it, which requires clear definitions. Durkheim warns
against using vague or common assumptions about suicide. Instead, he aims to identify
specific characteristics that make an act qualify as suicide.

Durkheim’s Approach to Defining Suicide

● Durkheim initially adopts the common understanding of suicide: it is any death

caused by the individual's own actions, whether through doing something (like
shooting oneself) or refusing to act (like not eating). However, he finds this
definition too broad and problematic.

For example, someone who accidentally falls to their death while hallucinating is very
different from someone who jumps off a building knowingly to end their life. This
highlights that intentions matter. At the same time, Durkheim rejects defining suicide
solely based on intention because it can exclude acts where death is not the person’s
goal but is still knowingly caused by their actions—like a mother sacrificing her life to
save her child.

Durkheim’s Refined Definition

Durkheim concludes that suicide is not about whether a person wants to die but
whether they know their action will result in death, even if death is not their
ultimate aim. This definition separates suicide from other deaths, such as accidents
or unconscious self-inflicted harm, and groups together actions where the person
knowingly causes their own death.

Challenges and Insights

Two challenges arise with this definition:

1. Degrees of Foreknowledge: People’s awareness of the consequences of their actions

varies. For example, when does the death of a daredevil or someone neglecting their
health stop being an accident and become a suicide?
2. Connection to Broader Behavior: Durkheim views suicide as part of a continuum of
human actions, not as something completely separate or abnormal. It is linked to
other behaviors, like courage or recklessness, and is simply an extreme version of
these common tendencies.

In summary,
Durkheim defines suicide as any act where a person knowingly causes their death,
regardless of whether death is their goal. This approach helps place suicide within
the broader context of human behavior, showing it is not a completely isolated or
monstrous act but part of a spectrum of actions.
Durkheim faced another objection to his study of suicide: people argued that suicide
is an individual act caused by personal factors, so it should be studied by psychology,
not sociology. Durkheim agreed that suicide could be studied psychologically but
argued it could also be studied as a social fact—a phenomenon influenced by society
as a whole rather than just individual behavior.

● Suicide as a "Social Fact"

Durkheim believed that each society has a unique tendency or "aptitude" for suicide,
which can be measured by the suicide rate (the number of suicides per population).
He pointed out two important aspects of this rate:

1. Consistency: A society's suicide rate remains relatively stable over time, more so
than many other demographic statistics like the overall death rate.

2. Variation: Each society has its own distinct suicide rate, which reflects its unique
social characteristics.

These patterns, Durkheim argued, couldn’t be explained by individual factors alone.

Instead, they result from the society's collective characteristics, which influence how
prone it is to suicide.
Studying Suicide Sociologically

Durkheim's study focused on understanding suicide from a societal perspective. His

work had three main parts:

1. Extra-Social Causes: He first examined non-social causes (like biological or

environmental factors) to see if they significantly influenced suicide rates. He found
these factors had little effect.

2. Social Causes: Next, he analyzed the social factors that influence suicide rates,
such as how societal norms, values, and relationships contribute to different types of
suicide. He also explored how these social causes interact with individual conditions.

3. Collective Suicide Tendencies: Finally, he studied the overall "suicide

aptitude"(suicide tendency )of societies—how a society's unique characteristics create
a tendency toward suicide. He also considered how these tendencies could be
addressed or reduced.

In summary, Durkheim argued that while individual psychology plays a role in suicide,
the overall suicide rate in a society reflects social factors. By studying suicide as a
social fact, he sought to understand its broader societal causes and patterns.

Durkheim examined "extra-social causes"—factors outside society, such as

psychological conditions and environmental factors—that might influence suicide rates.
He analyzed these causes in detail and systematically ruled them out as major
explanations for the patterns of suicide.

1. Psychological Causes (Mental Illness and Insanity)

Some believed suicide was caused by mental illness or insanity. Durkheim addressed
this in two ways:

● Suicide as a type of insanity: Some argued that suicide itself is a mental

disorder (called "suicidal monomania"). Durkheim rejected this idea, pointing out
that no clear, uncontested evidence existed to prove it.
 ● Suicide caused by insanity: Others believed suicide is simply an outcome of
different types of insanity. Durkheim dismissed this too, stating that suicides
linked to insanity are either impulsive (with no clear reasoning) or based on
hallucinations. However, many suicides are deliberate and involve logical
reasoning, which cannot be explained by insanity alone.

Durkheim also looked at less severe psychological conditions, such as neurasthenia

(nervous exhaustion) and alcoholism, which were often associated with suicide. He
found:

● Suicide rates don’t consistently align with the rates of neurasthenia or alcohol
consumption across different regions.

● While these conditions may make some individuals more vulnerable to suicide,
they do not explain the stability or variability of suicide rates in societies.
In short, psychological conditions might influence individuals, but they cannot explain
the overall patterns or rates of suicide in a society.

2. Biological Causes (Race and Heredity)

Durkheim also explored whether biological factors like race or heredity explained
suicide rates.

Race:
Some believed that suicide was tied to inherent traits of specific racial or ethnic
groups. Durkheim dismissed this by showing that suicide rates vary significantly within
the same racial groups, depending on societal factors like level of civilization and
culture.

Heredity:
Others argued suicide runs in families due to genetic inheritance. Durkheim found
that family patterns of suicide could often be explained by "contagion" (social
influence within families) rather than genetics. Additionally, the fact that suicide
rates vary within families (e.g., between husbands and wives) undermines the idea of
heredity as a sole cause.
Thus, Durkheim concluded that while biology might predispose individuals to suicide, it
is not sufficient to explain the consistent patterns in societal suicide rates.

3. Environmental Causes (Climate and Seasons)

Durkheim considered whether climate, temperature, or seasons influenced suicide

rates.

● Some believed cold, foggy climates caused higher suicide rates. However,
Durkheim found this incorrect because suicide rates are highest in spring and
summer, not fall and winter.

● Others suggested that heat directly excites the brain and leads to suicide.
Durkheim rejected this, noting that suicide is often associated with depression,
not over-excitement. He also showed that suicide rates don’t increase
consistently with higher temperatures (e.g., they decline in July and August).

The theory that the transition from cold to warm seasons (like springtime) triggers
suicide was also disproven because suicide rates increase steadily from January to
June and decrease steadily from July to December, showing no abrupt changes.

Ultimately, Durkheim concluded that environmental factors like climate or seasons

might influence individuals but are not major causes of suicide patterns in society.
Social factors provide a better explanation for the variations.

Durkheim’s Conclusion
Durkheim systematically ruled out extra-social causes—psychological, biological, and
environmental—as the main explanations for suicide rates.

While these factors might affect individuals, they do not account for the consistent
and distinctive patterns of suicide in different societies. Instead, Durkheim argued
that suicide is primarily shaped by social factors, which he focused on in the rest of
his study.
Before explaining how this works, Durkheim addressed a competing theory: Gabriel
Tarde’s idea that suicide is caused by imitation (copying the actions of others).

Durkheim broke down the term "imitation" into three types:

1. Collective consciousness: When individual thoughts combine to create something new

and collective, which Durkheim said isn’t true imitation because it doesn’t involve
reproducing an existing action.

2. Conformity: When people follow social customs and practices due to respect or
obligation. This involves reproduction of actions but is influenced by the nature of the
customs, not mere imitation.

3. Simple copying: When someone repeats an act just because they’ve seen or heard
about it, without thinking deeply about the act itself. Durkheim defined this as true
imitation.

Durkheim argued that true imitation is purely a psychological phenomenon. It involves

no intellectual or moral connection between the person copying and the original act.
For example,
humans imitate nature or animal movements without a "social" reason. Therefore, if
suicide is explained by imitation, it’s a psychological, not a social, phenomenon—and
Durkheim rejected this idea because he believed social facts cannot be explained by
psychological ones.

While Durkheim admitted that suicide can be contagious (e.g., hearing about suicides
can inspire others), he argued that this contagion doesn’t significantly influence the
overall societal suicide rate. Instead, it only affects individual cases in a sporadic
way. Because of this, Durkheim concluded that imitation might explain some suicides
but does not have a major social impact or explain broader patterns in suicide rates,
contrary to Tarde’s theory.
Émile Durkheim, a sociologist, explored whether imitation (copying others) influences
suicide rates. He argued that if imitation had an impact, suicide rates in one area
would spread to nearby areas, creating patterns around major cities. For example,
cities might act as "models" where suicide is more visible, causing surrounding areas
to imitate this behavior.

However, Durkheim found that suicides don’t cluster like this. Instead, they occur
evenly across large regions, without being centered around cities. This suggests that
imitation doesn’t play a major role. Instead, broader social factors—like societal
pressures or changes—better explain the patterns of suicide. For example, when
there’s a sudden shift in the social environment (like a major economic change),
suicide rates also shift suddenly, but only in the affected area. This pattern doesn’t
match the idea of imitation spreading gradually.

Durkheim went further, arguing that imitation doesn’t directly cause suicide at all. He
believed that people only act on ideas like suicide if they are already in a vulnerable
mental state, which is shaped by deeper social issues. In other words, copying
someone else’s behavior might reveal an existing problem, but it’s not the true cause
of the action. For Durkheim, the root causes of suicide are always found in social
factors, not in the simple act of imitating others.

Social Cause and social types

Durkheim's argument about suicide focuses on identifying the social causes behind it, rather
than individual or environmental ones. He starts by rejecting explanations like personal mental
health or physical surroundings. Instead, he suggests that suicide is a collective phenomenon
influenced by society.

Durkheim then asks whether there is just one kind of suicidal tendency or multiple types. He
decides to study different types of suicide separately by grouping similar cases based on their
characteristics.
However, a problem arises:
for suicides caused by insanity, he had detailed descriptions (like the person's mental state
or behavior before the act), making classification easier For suicides by sane( those whose
mental conditions are alright) people, such detailed information wasn’t available.
● So, he changed his approach. Instead of classifying suicides by external behaviors, he
classified them by their causes.

∆ To figure out the causes, Durkheim avoided relying on statistics about motives (reasons
people left behind for their suicides). He found these unreliable because they were based on
officials' interpretations, which could be flawed. Also, he argued that motives are not true
causes. The reasons given for suicide might reflect personal vulnerabilities but don’t explain
the broader social factors driving suicide.

Instead, Durkheim looked at the social environments (like religion, family, politics, and work)
where suicide rates differed. He believed these social contexts held the real causes of
suicide, helping to explain the variations in rates between groups.
Durkheim explained the connection between religion, society, and suicide in simple terms.
RELIGION 🙏 ☯️
He argued that religion helps prevent suicide not because of its teachings about God or the
afterlife but because it creates a strong, supportive community.
This community is built on shared beliefs and practices, which give people a sense of belonging
and purpose. The stronger these collective ties are, the less likely individuals are to feel
isolated and turn to suicide.

The Role of Other Groups

If religion protects people from suicide because it is a community, then other

communities—like families or political groups—should have a similar effect. Durkheim found
evidence to support this:

1. Family: 🧿🥰 Marriage alone reduces suicide risk, but mainly for men. However, a larger
family (with children) offers even greater protection for both husbands and wives.
The bigger the family, the stronger the support system, as it creates more shared emotions
and responsibilities.

2. Impact of Loss:
When one partner in a marriage dies 😭, the surviving partner's risk of suicide increases. But
this is not just because of the loss of the marital bond; it is also due to the disruption of the
family as a whole. 😥
3. Political Society: Suicide rates are lower during times of social unity, like during wars or
national crises, because people come together with shared goals and feelings of patriotism.
On the other hand, as societies become more advanced and individualistic, suicide rates tend
to rise.

Egoistic Suicide 👀🤲
Durkheim concluded that suicide is linked to how well a person is connected to their social
groups. When these groups weaken or "disintegrate,"
people are left to depend only on themselves. Without strong connections to a community,
individuals lack guidance and support, which can lead to feelings of isolation and hopelessness.
This state of extreme individualism is called egoism, and the type of suicide it causes is
called egoistic suicide.

Why Does Individualism Cause Suicide?

Some people believe that humans need a” higher purpose”, like belief in an eternal life, to find
meaning. Durkheim disagreed ~ He argued that humans can find meaning and satisfaction in
their earthly lives. The pleasures we enjoy are not just physical or selfish—they often come
from moral and social connections. For example, relationships, helping others, and contributing
to society all provide fulfillment.
When these social ties weaken, individuals may lose this sense of purpose, increasing the risk
of suicide.

when people feel isolated or overwhelmed by society, they may experience deep psychological struggles
like depression or self-doubt. These struggles arise from an inner conflict between wanting to be
independent and the pressure of societal expectations. The more a person tries to detach from society,
the more they may feel influenced by it, even in their loneliness or despair.

In simpler terms, it's saying that even when someone tries to be their own person, society's pressures
still affect them, often leading to mental distress or even harmful thoughts.
● This can happen because the challenges and discouragement that society creates can make
people feel hopeless, and these feelings can spread through society, affecting everyone.

● ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE (unselfish person)

This paragraph explains the concept of altruistic suicide, as studied by the sociologist Émile
Durkheim.
● Altruistic suicide happens when a person takes their own life because they feel it is
their duty to others or to society.
● This type of suicide often occurs in societies where individual identity is less important
than the group.individual <<<< group

For example, in some ancient or traditional societies,

● older men, widows, or servants might commit suicide out of obligation, such as when a
chief or spouse die
● . Durkheim argued that these acts are not just personal choices but are influenced by
societal norms and expectations
The person feels unhappy not because they see no purpose in life (like in egoistic suicide), but
because they are so committed to a larger goal or duty that their own life seems insignificant
in front of their larger goal duty.

Durkheim contrasts altruistic suicide with egoistic suicide. Egoistic suicides happen when
individuals feel isolated or disconnected from society, leaving them purposeless and depressed.
In contrast, altruistic suicide is driven by hope, faith, or enthusiasm for a cause beyond
oneself, even if it requires extraordinary sacrifice.

He also notes that altruistic suicides can occur in more modern societies, such as among early
Christian martyrs or soldiers in the military. In armies, suicides might happen for minor
reasons, like a reprimand, a delay in promotion, or simply because others have done it (a form
of imitation). This, Durkheim says, reflects an old moral belief that disregards individual life
in favor of group values.

Durkheim’s analysis highlights that suicides often reflect the moral values and pressures of a
society rather than just personal mental states.
For example, the "heroic" suicides of historical figures like Cato are similar to those of tribal
chiefs in primitive societies because they reflect the same sense of duty to something larger
than themselves.

A member of a sleeper cell might carry out a suicide bombing, believing that their act is for the
greater good of their religion or community. They may be motivated by various reasons

Such actions align with Émile Durkheim's concept of altruistic suicide because the individual is
acting out of extreme integration into their group. They are conditioned to see their personal life
as secondary to the collective ideals of their society or religion. While these acts are destructive
and controversial, they are often framed by the individuals and their organizations as selfless,
undertaken for the "greater good" or the group's long-term goals.

Anomic suicide 😥😭🙏

Anomic suicide, as described by Émile Durkheim,~
occurs when a society fails to regulate its members(' desires and behavior)
adequately, especially during times of social or economic upheaval. This happens when
individuals experience a loss of societal norms, resulting in a sense of disconnection
and instability. Durkheim noted that any significant disruption in societal equilibrium—
 ● whether it stems from financial crises or sudden prosperity—can lead to an
increase in suicide rates.
● Interestingly, he argued that both economic hardship and unexpected wealth
have the same impact, as they disturb the social order and create instability.

Durkheim explained that humans cannot be truly happy unless their

● desires are proportionate to their means. For animals, this balance is naturally
maintained by their physical needs and environment, but humans are different.
Our desires extend beyond basic survival and are shaped by reflection and
social influences. However, these desires are inherently limitless, and if they
go unchecked, they lead to frustration and misery. Pursuing unattainable goals,
he argued, results in perpetual unhappiness.

For humans to find happiness, Durkheim emphasized the need for external
constraints, as internal, physiological limits are insufficient. Society plays a critical
role here by regulating individuals' aspirations through moral and social guidelines.
This regulation ensures that people’s needs align with their means, creating balance.
For instance, societies often stratify their members into different social classes,
assigning value to various occupations and determining the rewards associated with
them. However, this system must be seen as just and legitimate by the people, and it
must evolve with changing societal values and resources.

When society undergoes a crisis, whether economic or social, its regulatory structure
gets disrupted. People are reclassified or reassigned new roles, leading to confusion
and a lack of control over their desires. In this state of disequilibrium,
● individuals lose the sense of stability that societal norms provide, making
happiness unattainable. This explains why suicide rates increase during periods
of economic turmoil or sudden prosperity. Interestingly,
● Durkheim noted that long-term poverty often shields societies from high
suicide rates because it provides a stable, albeit harsh, framework for
individuals to live within.

● Durkheim introduced the term” anomie” to describe this “condition of social

deregulation.”
● Anomic suicide, therefore, results from the absence of societal constraints,
leaving individuals unable to cope with their desires and circumstances. He
 pointed out that while anomie might be temporary in many areas, in some, it is
a chronic condition
● For example, in trade and industry, traditional sources of regulation—such as
religion, government, and occupational groups—have lost their ability to impose
moral constraints on the capitalist economy.

Religion
● once a moral guide, has diminished in influence, failing to console the poor or
limit the ambitions of the wealthy.
● Governments, which once controlled economic activities, have become servants
of these functions. Economists, whether orthodox or socialist, either reduce
the role of government to enforcing contracts or managing accounts, but
neither assign it the power to regulate society toward common goals. Even
occupational groups, which historically determined fair wages, product prices,
and income levels, have been weakened by the growth of industry and global
markets. This constant state of anomie in industrial and commercial fields
creates dissatisfaction and relentless greed, contributing to high suicide rates
among individuals in these occupations.

● Finally, Durkheim also noted another form of anomie in domestic life. This
domestic anomie affects widows, widowers, and those who experience
separation or divorce. Such individuals often face an increased tendency toward
suicide. While some scholars attributed this to personal psychological issues,
Durkheim dismissed this view. Instead, he emphasized examining the nature of
marriage and divorce as social institutions. For him, the breakdown of these
structures, like the lack of regulation in other areas, undermines stability and
leads to despair.

“Thus, anomic suicide stems from a failure of society to provide the moral regulation
necessary for individuals to balance their aspirations with reality.”

Durkheim on Marriage, Divorce, and Suicide: Simplified Explanation

Durkheim viewed marriage

● as more than a union between two people. He believed it was a form of social
regulation that controlled not only physical instincts but also the emotional and
moral aspects of love that had evolved over time. These emotional and moral
 desires, being separate from physical needs, required external rules to manage
them. According to Durkheim, monogamy (being married to one person for life)
played an important role in regulating love by focusing a person’s emotional
needs on one partner, limiting desires, and creating stability.

Divorce
● on the other hand, represented a weakening of this regulation. Durkheim
argued that when divorce becomes too common and is socially accepted without
strict limitations, it disrupts the stabilizing role of marriage. This leads to an
increase in suicides, as the regulation that marriage provides weakens.

The Gendered Impact of Marriage and Divorce

Durkheim observed that the protective effect of marriage against suicide was stronger
for men than for women. When marriages failed and divorces occurred, it was men, not
women, who were more likely to face higher suicide risks. He explained this difference by
stating that women's emotional and sexual needs were more closely tied to their physical
nature, which meant they didn’t rely as much on the social regulation provided by marriage.
Women’s needs, according to Durkheim, could be naturally restrained by their physiology,
unlike men, who required the additional structure of marriage to regulate their desires.

Interestingly, Durkheim drew an unexpected conclusion from this: If marriage does not
provide women with the same protective benefits as it does for men, then it is essentially
a one-sided system. Women make sacrifices in marriage—such as giving up their
independence—while receiving little to no benefit in return. This challenges the traditional
view that marriage is designed to protect women, as Durkheim argued that women endure
the disadvantages of marriage without significant compensation.

Different Types of Suicide and Their Expressions

Durkheim categorized suicides based on their causes and emotional expressions:

1. Egoistic suicide: Caused by a lack of social ties or isolation. This might manifest in a
mood of deep sadness or even in a detached and indifferent attitude, where someone ends
their life because they see no purpose in living.
2. Altruistic suicide: Caused by extreme devotion to a group or cause. People who commit
this type of suicide might feel a sense of duty or passion, believing their death serves a
higher purpose.

3. Anomic suicide: Caused by frustration and anger due to unfulfilled desires or disrupted
social norms. It often reflects disappointment with life’s inability to meet aspirations.

Durkheim explained that these types of suicides don’t always exist in their pure forms. Often, people experience a mix of
causes and emotions. For example:

● Egoism and anomie often occur together. A person who feels isolated (egoism) might also
feel unregulated or without direction (anomie). However, the egoist tends to be quiet and
withdrawn, while the anomic person is often more outwardly frustrated and driven by
limitless desires.

● Anomie and altruism can also combine. A person might feel chaotic or dissatisfied (anomie) but still act with a
sense of duty or passion, as seen in someone sacrificing themselves for a cause even if they feel deeply
discontented.

Even egoism and altruism, which seem like opposites, can overlap. For instance, in a society breaking apart, some
individuals might isolate themselves from everything else while creating an ideal or purpose to which they
passionately devote themselves.