Emile Durkheim's Theory of Suicide

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) was a renowned French philosopher. He presented the Theory of Suicide in his book titled Le Suicide (The Suicide) in 1897. It is generally viewed as the first scientific study in the realm of social sciences because it used systematic research methods. To explore the causes and types of suicide, Durkheim analyzed statistical records of suicide from government sources such as hospitals.
Durkheim defined suicide as follows:

"Every death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result."

This definition has two components:

Knowledge about the result, and
Death caused directly or indirectly by a positive or negative action.

Knowledge about the result: The person is aware of the result of his action, that it would lead to his death. The point to understand here is that the intention of the person may or may not be to kill himself, but he must know that his action will result in his death. For instance, the intention of a suicide bomber is not self-destruction but to kill others. He simply uses his body as a weapon to kill others. However, since he knows that this action would also lead to his own death, such a death qualifies as suicide.
Death caused directly or indirectly by a positive or negative action:

Positive actions are those actions that result in ending one’s life directly, such as hanging, taking poison or a large quantity of sedatives, or shooting oneself.
Negative actions are those actions that result in killing oneself indirectly, such as not eating food for a long time in order to starve oneself to death, or not fleeing from a building that is on fire.

■ TYPES OF SUICIDE

Durkheim believed that the real causes of suicide are social factors. Therefore, he rejected explanations for suicide from other sciences such as Biology and Psychology. He argued that biological and psychological causes do not offer sufficient explanations for suicide.

He was of the view that suicide has social causes, which are the forces in the social context where a person commits suicide. Like any other human behaviour, suicidal behaviour is also influenced and shaped by the contextual social circumstances of a person. Therefore, the motives for suicide can only be understood and explained with reference to the social context in which it occurs.

He identified the following two variables (as indicators of circumstances in the social context) to explain suicide and its types.

social integration, and
social regulation.

Integration: Integration means the degree of attachment of an individual to others in society. It can be understood as the degree to which collective sentiments (e.g., knowledge, beliefs, and values) are shared by members of society.
Regulation: Regulation is the degree of external constraints on people in a social context. These can be norms and values or other specific external factors that exert some force on an individual and thus shape their behavior accordingly.

The main assumption of Durkheim’s theory is that both the highest as well as the lowest degrees of integration or regulation make a person susceptible to suicide. If an individual is not properly integrated into society, it makes him vulnerable to suicide. Likewise, if an individual is highly integrated into society, it also makes him susceptible to suicide. The same applies to the degree of regulation in making an individual vulnerable to suicide.

Based on these explanations of the two variables (integration and regulation), Durkheim divided suicide into the following four types:

Egoistic Suicide
Altruistic Suicide
Anomic Suicide
Fatalistic Suicide

1. Egoistic Suicide

Egoistic suicide is caused by the lack of integration of an individual in his group. If an individual is weakly integrated into his social group, it makes him prone to suicide. Such suicide is a result of extreme loneliness and high individualism. The term ‘Ego’ refers to self. Egoistic people are highly self-focused and introverted. They tend to detach themselves from mainstream society by shutting themselves off. They do not participate in social life, have no interest in social gatherings, and usually cut off ties with others. Such an individual feels affronted, lonely, hurt, ignored, and unwanted. They have introverted traits and prefer living alone. They become alienated and find it difficult to cope with social isolation, which can lead to suicidal behavior.

This kind of suicide, which is a product of weak integration in a social group, was based on Durkheim’s findings on the relationship between suicide rates and varying degrees of an individual's integration in family, religious groups, and other areas, as explained below:

Family

“Suicide rates are higher in singles (unmarried, divorced, or separated) than in married people. Similarly, suicide rates are higher in married couples with no children than in those with children.”

Since married people have higher integration (being attached to their spouse and children) than single people, the suicide rate is comparatively higher among single individuals. Similarly, married couples with children have higher integration within their familial group than couples without children, so the suicide rate is relatively higher among couples without children.

Religion

“The suicide rate in Protestants is relatively higher than in Catholics.”

Durkheim argued that Catholicism promotes group integration by encouraging followers to develop strong social ties. In contrast, Protestantism fosters individual freedom and has fewer beliefs and practices that integrate followers into society. For this reason, suicide rates are higher among Protestants than Catholics.

Education

“The suicide rate is higher in more-educated individuals than in less-educated individuals.”

Durkheim believed that education makes an individual more critical and independent, which can weaken social bonds. Therefore, educated people are more susceptible to suicide. He also noted that this explained the higher suicide rate among Protestants, who were more educated than Catholics at the time.

Durkheim also observed that “suicide rates are higher in men than in women,” supporting this by stating that men were generally more educated than women at the time, making them relatively more prone to suicide.

2. Altruistic Suicide

Altruistic suicide is the result of over-integration of an individual into a social group. It is the opposite of egoistic suicide. When an individual is highly integrated into a group, he becomes willing to sacrifice his life for the collective interest of the group. Due to high integration, the group’s goal becomes more important than his personal benefit. This type of suicide is often associated with high respect in the eyes of group members.

Over-integration causes the individual to lose sight of his own individuality and focus solely on the welfare of the group, which can be a community, nation, political group, religious group, or any other organization. As a result, the individual may see it as his duty to commit suicide for the group when needed.

Examples:

Soldiers killed by the enemy while fighting for their country.
The Japanese practice of Hara-kiri or Seppuku, where individuals took their lives to prevent bringing shame to their group or to maintain social unity.
The practice of Sati in North India, where a widow would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, which was highly revered by the community.
Suicide bombers who kill themselves to harm others for the perceived cause of their group.
Parents who die while pushing their child out of the path of an oncoming car.

Durkheim divided altruistic suicide into three types:

Obligatory Altruistic Suicide: Socially or culturally required, respected in society, and obligates the individual to commit suicide when necessary. The practice of Sati is an example.
Optional Altruistic Suicide: Not obligatory but a choice for the individual. For example, a soldier could choose to fight or pursue another profession.
Acute Altruistic Suicide: Also called mystical suicide, based on spiritual or mystical beliefs. For instance, some religious beliefs suggest that dying for a communal cause grants a glorious place in the spiritual realm. Similarly, Hindus jumping into the Ganga river to wash away sins and purify their souls are examples.

3. Anomic Suicide

Anomic suicide occurs due to low regulation by social norms. The term ‘anomie’ means ‘state of normlessness.’ It happens when social norms or external forces fail to guide individual behavior. Anomic suicide can also occur during rapid social change, when old norms no longer work and new norms have not yet been established.

Such normlessness leads to social chaos. Individuals are unsure how to behave, meet society’s expectations, or influence their social environment. Weak social regulation results in dysfunctional behavior, threatening social organization. Relationships suffer because personal and social ethics fail to regulate behavior, creating confusion, insecurity, and dissatisfaction, which increases the risk of anomic suicide.
Anomic suicide often arises from sudden societal or personal changes:

Economic anomie: When a wealthy person suddenly loses everything and cannot adjust.
Conjugal anomie: When someone experiences sudden death, divorce, or separation of a spouse.

4. Fatalistic Suicide

Fatalistic suicide occurs due to excessive regulation. It is the opposite of anomic suicide. Norms and external pressures that are too strict can make life unbearable. In such oppressive circumstances, individuals lose hope for positive change and may prefer death to living under such constraints.