Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim stands among the seminal classical theorists of sociology such as Karl Marx, guck Webber and Ferdinand Tonnies (Morrison, 2006). At a time where the subject of sociology itself was in its st dates of infancy in universities, Durkheims contribution is draw as the foundation for what we recognize today as genial sciences (Morrison, 2006).Though he never considered himself a sociologist, Durkheims theoretical perspectives and neighborly concerns were profound and comprehensive, straddling aspects of religion, education, economics, law, psychology, ethics, philosophy, and theology. Among his central attention were regarding the aspects of Gemenshaft and Geselshaft how societies were able to function and be efficient as they progressed into modernization when shargond religion, culture and ethnic background seemed to sp decease in tandem as they word (Giddens, 1971).Durkheim borrowed August Comtes social analysis where he deconstructed smart set into several parts an d described distributively piece as playing a signifi fecal mattert role in keeping the community alive(p) and healthy, much like how individually limb and organ through pop out our bodies co-exist with one another. For one component to deteriorate or malfunction, the whole system would be affected. He then compounded the Gemenshaft theory with social facts as he moved towards Geselshaft, a term he coined to describe how each component had an independent cosmos greater and more than objective than the actions of the individuals that composed company (Giddens, 1971).His predecessors like Tonnies hypothesized that we all have a decide to and for each other that motivates us to co-exists, like a barter system, with the exception that humans are the commodities. For Durkheim, the corporate consciousness that down the stairslies a traditional society changes to individual consciousness in a modern society as a result of division of labor. Hence, the simplicity, complacency and s tructured moderation that gelled people together peacefully slowly dissipates as it becomes complex with different specialization in employment and social roles (Poggi, 2000).Needless to say, Durkheim broke the fix of looking at Comtes society as a simple family where on that point was no conflict, sloppiness and anomalies among its members. It is through these anomalies, or social problems, that we create forms of deviant behavior, most notably, self-annihilation (Poggi, 2000). In a nutshell, the more progressive or organic we become, the more social problems are created called anomalies. And these anomalies are the diseases that corrupt who we are that can eventually tip us everywhere the edge with suicide.Since young, Durkheim was notably a hard-working, studious and scholarly individual. He was born on April 15 1858 in Lorraine, France into a family of devout Jews. His father and forefathers were all rabbis, yet since young, Durkheim k cutting he was not to follow suit (Pog gi, 2000). He took an alternative path into the secular movement holding on to a belief that even the role of religious phenomena in society had its roots in social understanding rather than a higher, ethereal Being or Divine intervention (Poggi, 2000). His religious deviance could be due to the insurgence of Marxist politics that were sweeping Europe as repercussions of the French transition and Prussian War (Poggi, 2000). Nonetheless, the backbone of all his work was influenced by his familys religious upbringing though they may not be distinct.At college, Durkheim grew a reputation for being obnoxious. Though he won many another(prenominal) accolades upon entering cole Normale Suprieure in 1879 his lecturers did not think much of him unlike his peers Henri Bergson, Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges and Jean Jaurs, the latter(prenominal) who later became Durkheims closest friend (Giddens, 1971).Politics at the time made Durkheim a staunch socialist. Tensions of the Franco-Prussian war, the beleaguering of Paris and a new republican government overturned many changes intellectually for scholars throughout Europe, including Durkheim (Morrison, 2006). In the States, tensions were also arising from the civil war between the Union and the eleven southern states led by chair Lincoln (Morrison, 2006). It is interesting to point out that as Durkheim germinated a keen observation for social studies and social deviant behavior, America was experiencing the booming explosion of migration from all over Europe (Mclaughlin, 1990) due to the political instability.Despite Americas own civil conflicts, North America was becoming the goal destination for transatlantic migration. With its speedy influx of racial and cultural assimilation from Africa, South Americas through to Ireland, Durkheims work were soon to be seminal and timely in analyzing the social discrepancies that were to befall the new melting pot America (Mclaughlin, 1990). Soon, the country, under the leadershi p of President William McKinley at the turn of 1890, was experiencing the very problems Durkheim and his peers were scientifically trying to prove in apace developing organic societies. America was undergoing what sociologists describe as transplanted ne tworks foreign cultures taken out of its roots and transplanted amongst each other in a new climate allowing the plurality to blend into a concoction of few sort (Mclaughlin, 1990).For most Americans, immigration had caused an acute problem the loss of the true American identity. America was not just having problems with cultural diversity, but also touch diversity. Racial unlikeness was also due to color division. Though the civil wars had removed the term slavery from its context, the stigma, prejudice and discrimination among the African American and the whites go on to persist, causing an over-layering of marginality on top of the European migration (Mclaughlin, 1990). This racial division soon led to insufficiency and ine quality in opportunities leading to so many social anomalies (Mclaughlin, 1990). Considering the fact that Durkheim never set foot in America, it is ironic that America was to become the perfect guinea pig of a society for his all future analyses.As more Europeans fled to America, Durkheim grew increasingly nationalistic for a weakened France but left for Germany for a year. His return brought new inspiration. He helped to revolutionize the secular education by introducing social science as a instructor in pedagogy and reforming the French school system (Giddens, 1971). A slew of famous accomplishments came after in 1893 he wrote The Division of Labor in Society, in 1895 he finished Rules of the Sociological Method and founded the prime(prenominal) European Department of Sociology at the University of Bordeaux, in 1896 founded the journal LAnne Sociologique, and in 1897 published Suicide (Morrison, 2006).For a man of his astounding contribution, scholastic achievement and nationa listic pride, Durkheim succumbed to a bullet much closer to his warmth the death of his son in World War I. He never recovered from his sadness and two years later in November 15 1917, Durkheim, emotionally overwhelmed and devastated, died from exhaustion.Though he died at a young mount of fifty-nine, Durkheim left a legacy of social understanding that speaks in volume up till today. wholeness of his remarkable works is his book entitled Le Suicide (1897) that argues how collective forces are instrumental determinants for suicide than individual factors. Though the book was greatly challenged by scholars and skeptics alike, Durkheims investigations warrant a legitimate aloofness for understanding, if not comparative study (Brym and Lie, 2006).Though suicide is commonly associated with psychiatric illness, human weaknesses as an escape to animations difficulties, or mental dysfunction due to substance abuses, Durkheim contends that it is society and its trappings that leads an i ndividual over the edge (Edles and Appelrouth, 2004). What has been recorded such as race, heredity, psychiatric factors, etc are all peripheral factors, far from the nitty-gritty of the causes. The nucleus is by not looking at suicide as an individual or isolate case, but by looking at the totality of suicide in a society what are the factors causing people to commit suicide? Why are people committing suicide?Based on Le Suicide, one strong basis is caused by an individuals poor consolidation into his society (Emirbayer, 2003). By not being able to fit in, one becomes a social outcast an anomalousness and being left out or misplaced is what leads one to want to be completely out of the whole community, hence suicide. Another cause is when there is no moral or social integration or regulation for the individual within his society (Edles and Appelrouth, 2004). His formulation each society has an aptitude for suicide. This is heedful by taking the proportion between the total nu mber of voluntary deaths and the population of every age and sex against its historical period (Emirbayer, 2003).Durkheim creates a linking between individual pathologies to social conditions (Edles and Appelrouth, 2004). He describes four types of suicides egoistic, altruistic, estranged and fatalistic (Emirbayer, 2003). Egoistic suicide occurs when man finds no more purpose in life. An example is when a person lives alone or has loosened his bonds with his family, is divorced and feels disconnected with others. His sense of non-belonging and feeling non-appreciated would be the triggers that end his life (Edles and Appelrouth, 2004). It is considered the most extreme form and a natural disposition for individuals living in passing developed and modern societies.Altruistic suicide is when an individual gives his life for his group. Examples of this would be the practice of human sacrifices in accredited remote tribal cultures and suicide bombers. Durkheim describes another type of suicide that stems from this extreme form of helplessness fatalistic suicide. Such suicide results in primitive groups or societies where the individual is rendered powerless in releasing himself from a form of oppression such as slavery or sacrificial cult.Anomic suicide happens when there is neglect of moral regulation to the individual and his social group. This occurs when the individual feels morally lost and adrift, setting him apart from everyone else. He may have deviated himself from not wanting to be a part of any religion because there many to choose from, or because the religious plurality has reduced his insight on the true centre of religion (Brym and Lie, 2006).Through Durkheims teachings, we learn that if all members of a society were anchored to common sets of symbolic representations, to common assumptions slightly the world around them, individuals in their social groups would feel a sense of belonging and help rule out societies from social decay and deg eneration.References1.Applerouth, S. A. and Edlers, L. D. (2004). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era Text and Readings. Thousand Oaks. languish Forge Press2.Brym, R. J. and Lie, J. (2006). Sociology Your Campus for a New World. Australia. Thomson Wadsworth3.Emirbayer, M. (2003). Emile Durkheim Sociologist of Modernity. MA. Blackwell Publishing Ltd4.Giddens, A. 91971). Capitalism and Modern favorable Theory. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press5. Poggi, G. (2000). The Founders of Modern Political and Social Thought. Oxford. Oxford University Press6.Morrison, K. (2006). Marx, Durkheim, Weber. London. Sage Publications Inc.7. V. Yans-Mclaughlin. (1990). Immigration Reconsidered History, Sociology and Politics. Oxford. Oxford University Press