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Anomie (sociology)

Emile Durkheim was the first sociologist to take the term anomie and use it in reference to sociology. The official contemporary English definition of the term is "a condition in individuals characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values." In sociological terms, anomie is referred to as "a sense, associated with 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 Marx's concept of alienation. Both concepts correspond to a distinct conception of human nature and human essence; however, the primary difference is that Durkheim's concept views humans as creatures who contain the potential to become good or evil opposed to Marx's concept which views humans as "active yet noble creatures". Because humans in Durkheim's concept are "open to distinct outcomes depending on the type of social regulation they encounter, ...they are not innately noble poets, musicians, or artists, but rather units of analysis who respond to the forces of the social and therefore require a well regulated social system." Both alienation and anomie represent different distinct approaches to what can be described as a social psychology of societal regulation. "Each concept seeks to explain the 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 society that is run through mechanical solidarity citizens have defined roles and everyone is aware of their individual purpose or role; however, once a society gains more of 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 differentiation in their relationships with acts of individualization of both observers and those being observed because suicide can be explained in terms of social differentiation, beginning from the variables of suicide rates. Using the suicide rates, Durkheim was able to determine an increasing number in data in a direct way, concomitantly or interveniently while the suicide phenomenon and even "suicidal trends" seemed to increase alongside social transformations such as the mobilization of individuals and families, the migration of populations, 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 individual that is normless, which is impossible inside of a society; however, Durkheim never used normlessness in his definition of the word and this is actually just a common misinterpretation. Another problem with Durkheim's theory of anomie is that "anomie is perceived to be a conflict between social and individual aspects of existence, between society's obligations, frameworks, and 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]