Practice question · Select all that apply
Durkheim argued that the suicide rate is a social fact. Which of his claims explain why he thought it could not be reduced to individual psychology?
Hints
- Three of these are arguments about the rate; one makes a claim about individual cases that Durkheim never needed.
- His target is the level of explanation, not the reality of personal suffering.
Show the answer
- A. The rate varies systematically with religious affiliation, marital status and economic conditions
- B. Psychological explanations account for who dies but not for how many die in a population
- D. The rate for a given population is stable from year to year even though the individuals change
Why
The whole argument is about levels. Durkheim never denied that each death has a biography; he argued that biographies cannot explain why the number is what it is and why it moves with social conditions. The third option overstates him into a position that is both implausible and unnecessary to his case.
Practise Integration, Anomie and Deviance
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More questions on Integration, Anomie and Deviance
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