Émile Durkheim: On Suicide

I have struggled with suicidal thoughts since I was a teenager. I have attempted suicide five times. I share this because I am not ashamed—they are facts of my life. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology, and Émile Durkheim’s work on suicide has always resonated with me. He did not treat suicide as just a mental illness or personal weakness. He examined it as a social issue—something that can be explained by how connected or disconnected someone is from their community.

A few years ago, I changed my Twitch name to disconnexion—after feeling suicidal and extremely disconnected from the world. People often claim that suicide is selfish. I believe it is equally selfish to demand that someone continue living a life they no longer want. The tension between societal expectations and private suffering, is central to understanding suicide not just psychologically, but sociologically. Suicide is important to discuss and this article is meant to be informative and educational, not persuasive.

“Each society is predisposed to generate a certain quantity of voluntary deaths.”

Émile Durkheim was a pioneering sociologist who studied suicide extensively. His 1897 work "Le Suicide"  is one of the earliest sociological texts. Durkheim's work emphasizes the crucial role of social connections and belongingness in protecting individuals from suicidal tendencies.

Durkheim's Theory of Suicide: 

• Social Integration and Suicide: Durkheim argued that suicide is not solely a result of individual psychological problems, but also influenced by social factors. He theorized that the degree to which an individual is integrated into a social group or society affects their likelihood of committing suicide.

  
  

• Types of Suicide: Based on the level of social integration and social regulation, Durkheim categorized suicide into four types.

  • Egoistic suicide: Results from a lack of social integration, leading to feelings of isolation and meaninglessness.

  • Altruistic suicide: Occurs when an individual is too integrated into a group and may sacrifice their life for the group's benefit.

  • Anomic suicide: Arises from a state of normlessness or social disintegration, where individuals feel disconnected from societal norms and values.

  • Fatalistic suicide: Happens when a person is excessively regulated and oppressed by societal rules. 

Egoistic Suicide

“The more strongly someone is integrated into a group, the less likely he is to commit suicide.”

Durkheim's concept of egoistic suicide suggests low social integration is linked to an increased risk of suicide. This can be seen in individuals who feel isolated, misunderstood, or cut off from meaningful social ties. These are often people who lack strong family bonds, community involvement, or shared purpose with others. You might hear descriptions like “he was a loner,” or “she never really connected with anyone.”

An example could be a man who lives alone, has no close relationships, and feels like he does not belong anywhere. He may go through life unnoticed, and over time, that deep sense of disconnection leads to hopelessness. Egoistic suicide is often more common in societies or environments where individualism is strong, and collective support is weak.

Altruistic Suicide

“In societies where the individual is completely absorbed in the group, he is almost without personal existence and ready to renounce it whenever the collective interest requires it.”

Altruistic suicide happens when an individual is too integrated into a group—where the group’s needs and values overpower the individual’s own life or desires. These people may believe their death is a duty or sacrifice for the greater good.

A clear example is seen in religious cults, where group members are convinced to take their own lives as an act of loyalty. The Heaven’s Gate cult in 1997 is one such case. Members believed they would ascend to a higher existence by dying together. In this type of suicide, you do not hear “he was a loner,” but rather, “he was completely devoted to the group.” In Durkheim’s terms, this extreme integration erases personal identity in favor of group belonging.

Anomic Suicide

“Anomic suicide... occurs when the bounds of the social order are broken, and one’s passions are let loose without sufficient regulation.”

Anomic suicide stems from instability—especially during times of sudden change or breakdown in social norms. People may feel lost when societal structures that once gave their life meaning collapse. This can happen after job loss, divorce, bankruptcy, or dramatic cultural shifts.

An example would be a successful businessman who suddenly loses everything in an economic crash. With no clear rules to follow anymore and no stable identity left, he may feel there is no place for him in the new reality. Durkheim viewed this type of suicide as common in rapidly changing societies where the old rules vanish, but nothing reliable replaces them.

Fatalistic Suicide

“Fatalistic suicide is committed by persons with futures pitilessly blocked and passions violently choked by oppressive discipline.”

Fatalistic suicide occurs when a person is under extreme social regulation—their life is tightly controlled, leaving no room for hope, freedom, or personal expression. These are situations where people feel trapped, like prisoners or slaves to a system.

Examples can include individuals in long-term incarceration, those in severely abusive relationships, or victims of extreme authoritarian regimes. You might hear someone describe this as “there was no way out” or “their life was already over in every other way.” This type is the opposite of anomic suicide—where chaos reigns—because here, the problem is too much order, too many constraints.

The Allure of Suicide

“One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain one bestows on it the name of infinity; this does not change its nature. When one feels such pleasure in non‑existence, one’s inclination can be completely satisfied only by completely ceasing to exist.”

This excerpt reflects Durkheim's idea that when someone dwells deeply on the concept or allure of emptiness or non-existence, it becomes a stronger temptation—described almost like a seductive ideology. In other words, long-term contemplation of suicide can actually draw someone toward it. Some who know me may wonder if this is why I have dealt with suicide for the last fifty years. I can say it is not—I do not dwell on death, the thought often appears randomly without warning or any obvious cause.

Conclusion Durkheim gave structure to something that often feels unexplainable. He showed that suicide is not always rooted in personal weakness or mental illness, but often shaped by the social world around us. His four categories—egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic—offer a framework that still applies today. Whether someone is isolated, consumed by group identity, unanchored, or over-controlled, the social impact of suicide is real.

My own experiences have crossed into more than one of these categories. Maybe that is part of why I relate to Durkheim’s work. Talking about suicide is not easy, but it is necessary. Silence can be deadly—be the voice that saves someone's life.

Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."