“Man cannot attach himself to higher purposes and submit to a rule if he sees nothing above himself to which he belongs. Freeing him from all social pressure means abandoning him to himself and demoralizing him." (Durkheim E., 1897) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Durkheim's analysis of social solidarity has had enormous influence in the sphere of sociology since his publication of The Division of Labor in Society in 1893. The central theme The premise underlying Durkheim's work is that individuals are intrinsically selfish, yet the collective values ​​and beliefs of society bind them together, resulting in social integration (Durkheim É. , 1893). In this way, individuals' psychologies are constrained by the values, norms, and relationships they share within society. This essay will explore this idea in its entirety. First, Durkheim's analysis of social integration will be discussed. Secondly, this essay will examine the social structures and conditions that constitute the pillars of social solidarity. Third and finally, this essay will examine the importance of social solidarity in modern society, contrasting today's integration with that of traditional societies. Social integration, as Berkman and colleagues state, is a measure of social embeddedness and connectedness (Berkman, Glass, Brissette, & Seeman, 2000). Durkheim postulates that all societies are governed to some extent by common values ​​and beliefs, although the extent to which these influence individuals differs from society to society. He calls this common conception of morality “collective conscience.” He then supports this, stating that the way people feel integrated into their societies is a reflection on the strength of those common norms, beliefs and values ​​(Durkheim É., 1893). The more interconnected an individual is with others, the more likely he or she is to have opinions that align with the moral code of his or her society (Thorlindsson & Bernburg, 2004). Durkheim postulates that it is difficult to explore the concept of social integration within normally integrated societies, and therefore searches for extremes to prove his theory. In particular, Durkheim explores "the act of suicide" and tries to demonstrate that suicide is socially shaped. Theorizes that suicide rates within societies tend to correspond to other measures of social embeddedness (1897). Because marriage and family tend to be a clear sign that a person is socially connected and interconnected (Kyung-Sook, SangSoo, Sangjin, & Young-Jeon, 2018), Durkheim chooses to examine the marriage rate alongside the suicide rate. Durkheim finds that married men were significantly less likely to commit suicide than unmarried men. Furthermore, he finds that immunity to suicide appears to increase with family size. He found that these correlations are constant across a wide range of societies and therefore concluded that suicide is influenced by the level of interdependence within society, as indicated by socially integrative institutions such as marriage and family. This social model, he says, has a greater impact than the pathology of individuals (Durkheim E., 1897). Recent studies on anomie would seem to confirm Durkheim's theory (Thorlindsson & Bernburg, 2004). Durkheim defined anomie as an individual's sense of isolation from society, perhaps resulting from the lack of social rules in the individual's life (Durkheim É., 1893). Writers like Thorlindsson and Bernburg write further about this, expressing it as “characterized by aspirations and expectationsunrealistic ideas that often cause conflicts between means and ends and leave individuals with feelings of meaninglessness and hopelessness and a sense of injustice." Thorlindsson and Bernburg study delinquent adolescents in Iceland and, using hierarchical linear regression, show that individuals less involved in education and other predictors of solidarity are more likely to engage in socially deviant behavior (2004). Further studies demonstrate that adolescents with strong social ties to mainstream institutions are less likely to associate with delinquent friends and develop such behaviors (Thornberry, 1987). Studies relating to the effects of social integration on health would also seem to confirm Durkheim's theory of social integration. Social integration, along with socioeconomic status, has long been considered a determinant of health (Laporte, Nauenberg, & Shen, 2008). Having strong ties to family and friends, being married, and attending social and religious institutions have been inversely associated with mortality (Syme & Berkman, 1979). Although it is interesting to note that there appears to be a moderate difference in the likelihood of a very socially integrated or non-integrated person having liver disease (perhaps because alcoholism, a deviant act, may act as a factor in this), generally more is psychological , the more likely it is to vary with integration (Gove, 1973). Criticism of this idea suggests that it is not simply anomie that causes disease, but rather that anomie influences the likelihood that people will have access to resources and supports related to their health (Berkman, Glass, Brissette, & Seeman, 2000) . A person with fewer interpersonal ties is less likely to have support in the form of other people to prevent him or her from engaging in deviant behaviors such as drinking (Hughes & Gove, 1981), and less likely to find people who encourage him or her to seek health care. when they need it, where married people with families could do it. So it is not necessarily an individual's devotion to the “collective consciousness” that mediates such behavior, but rather also mechanical processes. That said, it is plausible that people who step in to offer such support may be acting out of solidarity, in line with the social norm or belief that people should not drink, or should seek medical care when ill. So this criticism is merely mitigating and not entirely incompatible with Durkheim's theory. Another criticism of Durkheim's mediations of health is that the types of groups into which individuals integrate influence the likelihood that such integration will positively affect their health. That is, due to homophily, people find it easier to form bonds with people with whom they share characteristics such as race, gender, or religion (Louch, 2000). So it is these shared values ​​and beliefs that they conform to. Durkheim would argue, and others would agree (Ibarra, 1993) (Gallo, 1982), that such bonds are good for health. However, because minorities can often be isolated from the dominant group, they may have difficulty integrating into the group at large, negatively impacting health, as Kim postulates (Kim, 2001). It is important to subsequently examine the social structures and conditions conducive to social development. integration. Durkheim conceptualizes the aspect of normal integration by indicating its opposite, the abnormal within society (Durkheim E., 1897). Turner (1981) extrapolates from Durkheim's work the principles that underlie normal social integration. Turner poses four conditions: first, that individual passions be limited bysharing of cultural symbols, secondly that individuals choose mutually reinforcing rituals and gestures, thirdly that both norms and political structures regulate behavior and fourthly that inequalities within society are accepted and seen as resolved. correspond to the talents of individuals. These conditions and the structures they entail must be considered later. First, shared cultural symbols must be considered. Durkheim writes in particular about religious dogma. He observes that among Jews and Catholics the suicide rate is considerably lower than that among Protestants (Durkheim E., 1897). Durkheim attributes this to the fact that Protestantism has fewer shared values ​​and beliefs than Judaism and Catholicism. Indeed, he observes, the freest inquiry within Protestantism is “the one essential difference between Protestantism and Catholicism.” For Durkheim, therefore, it is not religious dogma itself that makes suicide more or less likely, but rather the fact that Judaism and Catholicism are richer in dogma, and in particular among Jews who had to face hostility of other faiths, this dogma is believed to be true. As Turner (1981) writes, this essentially demonstrates that the number of shared cultural symbols an individual believes in and the strength of his or her connection to them affects the likelihood that they will be socially integrated. Secondly, this essay must examine rituals and gestures. Rituals and social institutions are a method through which individuals choose to enter society, causing greater interdependence on each other. The opposite is selfishness, in which people are not attached to the collective through such rituals and gestures (Turner, 1981). Religion once again provides an example, this time in terms of community. Religion provides collective goals toward which individuals can strive (Thorlindsson & Bernburg, 2004). Such goals can prevent feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Continuing this, Durkheim considers different religious communities and the levels of social integration within them. Durkheim postulates that another reason for the disparity in suicide rates between Protestants and Jews and Catholics is that, unlike Judaism and Catholicism, Protestantism has an individualistic rather than collective focus (1897). In particular, this argument can also be applied in the case of other institutions such as the family or the country (Umberson, 1987). Through shared activities such as rituals and prayer services, individuals appear to become more bound to the rules of society. Third, this essay must examine the norms and political structures used to regulate behavior. As Thorlindsson and Bernburg (2004) write, “school is a central institution in the lives of contemporary adolescents”. Through educational institutions, a sense of obligation and conformity is fostered. Students obey rules about attendance, dress, and homework and are taught to appreciate them. The rituals implemented in schools and the feelings spread within them have a notable controlling effect on adolescents. In this way, institutions such as schools promote a sense of shared obedience and conformity to social rules. Fourth, this essay will explore the acceptance of inequality. Durkheim postulates that when people strive and seek improvement in their lives, they can be diverted from the role best suited to them. In this way a forced division of labor occurs. He writes “the attention of each individual is distracted in too many directions” (Durkheim É., 1893). Durkheim postulates that integration was stronger in pre-industrial times, when people had more.