December 5, 2011

(Source: mystuffmyway)

7:20pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZuwNYyCsdVxC
(Notes: 70)
  
Filed under: durkheim 
April 16, 2011
The Werther Effect

Sociologist Dave Phillips coined the term “The Werther Effect” in 1974 to describe the phenomenon that self-preservative and destructive behaviors as socially contagious as they are correlated to one’s genetic disposition. The term was of course, named after the protagonist in The Sorrows of Young Werther, a novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published in 1774.

The Sorrows of Young Werther reportedly led to as many as 2,000 cases of copycat suicides among young men, who took their lives just as Young Werther did. This has led to a voluntary self-censorship on media’s coverage of suicide cases. On a less bleak note, it also spawned a trend of pairing a custard yellow trouser with an electric-blue jacket.

Extended Reading:

4:29am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZuwNYy4LTSn6
(Notes: 21)
  
Filed under: social contagion suicide durkheim 
April 12, 2011

Alain de Botton on “A kinder, gentler philosophy of success”, something that is ostensibly missing in capitalist society. Our favourite part? Everything. But the chunk below is just a wonderful argument for people who doubt the benefits of restructuring social policies to be more compassionate.

“Now everybody, all politicians on left and right, agree that meritocracy is a great thing, and we should all be trying to make our societies really really meritocratic. In other words, what is a meritocratic society? A meritocratic society is one in which if you’ve got talent and energy and skill, you will get to the top. Nothing should hold you back. It’s a beautiful idea. The problem is if you really believe in a society where those who merit to get to the top, get to the top, you’ll also, by implication, and in a far more nasty way, believe in a society where those who deserve to get to the bottom also get to the bottom and stay there. In other words, your position in life comes to seem not accidental, but merited and deserved. And that makes failure seem much more crushing.

That’s exhilarating if you’re doing well, and very crushing if you’re not. It leads, in the worst cases, in the analysis of a sociologist like Emil Durkheim, it leads to increased rates of suicide. There are more suicides in developed individualistic countries than in any other part of the world. And some of the reason for that is that people take what happens to them extremely personally. The own their success. But they also own their failure.”

And yes, we love the fact that he is playing on Howard Zinn classic phrase.

(Source: ted.com)

1:38pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZuwNYy4FbLPm
(Notes: 31)
  
Filed under: socialism durkheim alain de botton 
March 1, 2010
Emeile Durkheim’s 3 types of suicide

myopenmind:

1. egoistic suicide

  • Low degree of socialization
  • One may feel that he has no one to turn to in times of distress
  • Studied 3 major religious groups, catholics, jews, protestants, and found that though jews have the highest insanity rates, they have the lowest suicide rate and protestants are more likely to commit suicide.  Durkhiem believed that this was because the jewish and catholic religions tend to be less individualistic than the protestant religion.
  • Single persons are more likely to commit suicide than married and married persons without children are more likely to commit suicide than those with children
  • Intellectuals have higher suicide rates

2. Altruistic suicide

  • High degree of socialization
  • When one loses all individuality and therefore loses all his feelings of self worth
  • Willing to give themselves completely to the group
  • Example- cult sacrifices, specifically, Jonestown

3. Anomic suicide(anomie)

  • A state of meaninglessness where people are cut from social ties
  • Personal feeling of a lack of norms
  • When a person feels he is without purpose
  • Can be caused by change
  • When a person feels out of control
  • Divorce, loss of a job, loss of a loved one
  • Too mush emphasis on the individual

Bleak but good to know, perhaps.

Note: It should be Émile Durkheim, not Emeile Durkheim.

9:40am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZuwNYyP1vmS
(Notes: 38)
  
Filed under: Durkheim 
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