Durkheimian Theories Applied to Buffalo Creek Essay -- essays research

This essay leave behind describe Emile Durkheims concepts of sociable integration and neighborly/moral edict and will explain how Durkheim connects them to suicide. It will then utilize those concepts to analyze the social effects of the overawe Creek flood, as described in the volume Every function In Its Path?, by Kai T. Erikson, showing other consequences besides high suicide rates.Durkheims concept of social integration refers to social groups with distinct determine, traditions, norms, and goals. These groups will differ in the degree to which individuals are part of the incarnate body, also to the extent to which the group is emphasized over the individual, and lastly the train to which the group is unified versus fragmented. Durkheim believed that two types of suicide, self-involved and Altruistic, could stem from social integration. Egoistic suicide resulted from as well little(a) social integration. Those citizenry who were non sufficiently bound to a social g roup would be left with little or no social support in times of crisis. This caused them to pull suicide much often. An example Durkheim discovered was that of unmarried people, especially males, who, with less(prenominal) to connect them to stable social groups, committed suicide at higher(prenominal) rates than married people. Altruistic suicide is a result of too much integration. It occurs at the opposite end of the social integration graduated table as egoistic suicide. Self sacrifice appears to be the driving force, where people are so involved with a social group that they tolerate sight of themselves and become more willing to take one for the team, however if this causes them to die. The most common cases of altruistic suicide occur to s aged(prenominal)iers during times of war. ghostlike cults have also been a major source of altruistic suicide.In Durkheims concept of social/moral regulation, fraternity imposes limits on valet de chambre to regulate their passions, desires, expectations, ambitions and roles. When these limits or social regulations break down, the controlling authority the society once had no longer functions and people are left on their own to make their own plans. In societies that have low levels of social regulations, a state of Anomie, or normlessness, can occur and affect the full-length society or just some of its groups. Anomic suicide was more prevalent in this type of society. Anomic suicide basically involve... ...e old communities threw all kinds of different people to tickher. At the risk of sounding superior, I feel we are living amidst people with lower moral values than us.? (208) In conclusion, the flood at Buffalo Creek destroyed the denizens very social fabric. This in itself is not unique(p), except what was unique about Buffalo Creek is that there was no post misadventure euphoria, where people who have survived the disaster are uplifted by the accompaniment that the community is still present and v iable. That was not the case in Buffalo Creek, mostly in part due to HUDs internal policies but also due to the very devastation caused by the flood. The other thing that was unique about Buffalo Creek was that ninety-three percent of the survivors had diagnosable emotional disorders eighteen months after the disaster. Usually survivors of disasters are able to get over it and move on, but the survivors of the Buffalo Creek disaster were not able to do this because of their total loss of Gemeinschaft? or sense of community.SourcesErikson, Kai T. Everything In Its Path? Touchstone 1976I1, http//durkheim.itgo.com/suicide.html, Dunman, L. Joe The Emile Durkheim Archive?, 1999