Anomie (sociology)
organic solidarity, of not knowing what one is expected to do; of being adrift in society without any clear and secure moorings (Ritzer, 2007)". Durkheim brought the term to sociology in his book
Suicide, published in
1897.
Durkheim & Anomie
In the year of 1975, Durkheim reviewed a book by Guyau. This book, published in 1887, "advocated anomie as a rational alternative to dogmatism (Mestrovic, 1985)." Although Durkheim agreed with the definition of the term, he did not agree with Guyau's treatment of individualism as a correlate of anomie. It is believed that this is how Durkheim became aware of the term anomie and that Durkheim followed suit with Guyau, using the term anomie to mean "lack of rule" moreso than "lack of law" as the words etymology would imply. This theory comes from the fact that for centuries what has been known as sin has been translated as anomia, even though many still have not attempted to research this connection. (Mestrovic, 1985)
Anomie and Alienation
Durkheim's concept of anomie is similar to
pathological
states of mind that arise from particular social relations present in highly differentiated social systems." (Acevedo, 2005)
Anomie in Organic Solidarity
Durkheim believes that in a
division of labor through an increase in dynamic density, citizens can wander through life without being assured of what their place is in their society (Ritzer, 2007). People who feel this sense of being lost and fall into the category of anomic tend to take on forms of
deviant behavior and some even fall victim to anomic
suicide. For this reason, Durkheim viewed anomie as the major, as well as most dangerous, problem with organic solidarity.
Anomic Suicide
As stated above, anomic suicide occurs when an individual is overtaken by anomie and eventually commits suicide. Tomasi states that Durkheim's Suicide is still a critical area for the discussion of factors of social
industrializations,
urbanizations, etc. The sociological point of view on suicide, starting with Durkheim, is that "voluntary death is an act of departure from society, the conditions of which can be dictated in varying degrees by the society itself, especially in relation to the level of
integration of the individuals or groups who live in it." Recent studies have shown that the common denominator in the factors correlated with a high percentage of suicide is
social isolation... one may assume that the most typical suicide of modern culture is the anomic one." (Tomasi, 1993)
Criticism of Anomie
One of the main criticisms of Durkheim's take on anomie is that it is often interpreted as describing an
goals, and the individual's
autonomy"; however, some believe that Durkheim contradicted himself by advocating individualism at times while at others treating individualism as a
synonym for utalitarian
egotism. This problem is however put to rest once cult individualism is viewed as a collective
representation and not something derived from the individual. Durkheim has also stated that "suicide varies inversely with the
degree of
integration of the social groups of which the individual forms a part (Durkheim, 1897)", while contradicting himself and stating that "insufficient
individuation has the same effects so that suicide occurs "when
social integration is too strong (Durkheim, 1897)." It is not possible for the suicide
rate to vary directly and indirectly (Mestrovic, 1985). Actually, Parsons says that integration creates normative concensus, order, and the opposite of anomie (
Parsons, 1937).
References
•Acevedo, Gabriel A., "Turning Anomie on its Head: Fatalism as Durkheim's Concealed and Multidimensional Alienation Theory", 2005. Sociological Theory 23:1
•Durkheim, Emile, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, 1897. New York: Free Press.
•Mestrovic, Stjepan G., Anomie and Sin in Durkheim's Thoughts. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1985, 24 (2): 119-236.
•Parsons, Talcott, The Structure of Social Action, 1937. Glencoe: Free Press.
•Ritzer, George, Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics 2nd Edition, 2007. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.
•Tomasi, Luigi, Social Differentiation and the Current Significance of Emile Durkheim's Anomie, 1993. Social Compass 40(3), 363-374
External Links
Durkheim's Anomie [1]
Table on Suicide [2]
On the Anomie Theories of Merton and Durkheim [3]
