Durkheim did not say “Normlessness”: the Concept of Anomic Suicide for Introductory Sociology Courses

The definitions of anomic suicide presented in introductory sociology textbooks from 1996-2007 were compared with the definition given by Durkheim in his own writings, both the original French & the English translation. It was found only one textbook correctly gave Durkheim’s own definition while the other definitions showed little or no relationship to the original concept. The original concept was based on an analysis of the economy, more particualrly the business cycle, & refers only to the structure of society & not to the mental state of the individual. An attempt is made to discover the source of such a widespread & well-accepted error. (43 refs.)

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