... idea which was born from society and then socialized into us. This emphasises the positivistic idea that we are "puppets on the strings of society", which says that we are predictable as we have all been shaped and moulded in the same way. So all of our actions are a result of societies shaping and moulding of us. Evidence of this theory is Durkheims cross historical and cultural comparative study, from official statistics available from a number of European countries about suicide. These highlighted how suicide rates are consistent over time but different between societies, in this case countries. For instance; Italy had 30 suicides for every million. England had 67 for every million, and Saxony (France) had 293 for every million. Durkheim used these statistics to demonstrate the effectiveness of sociological explanations and reject non-sociological approaches. The statistics also showed how a number of different variables can effects rates ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now