Durkheim's Suicide

Émile Durkheim's work on suicide explores how social factors influence individual behavior. He identified four types of suicide: egoistic (due to lack of social ties), altruistic (excessive integration into a group), anomic (resulting from societal changes or instability), and fatalistic (resulting from excessive regulation). Durkheim emphasized that suicide is not merely a personal act, but deeply connected to social environments. By studying patterns and rates of suicide across different groups, he demonstrated that societal conditions can significantly impact mental health and well-being, suggesting that community cohesion and stability are vital for individual resilience.