Social Facts

Social facts exist outside the individual and influence his behaviour. Such facts have a material and mon-material origin according to Durkheim who spearheaded research into the causes of suicide in society and was able to conclude that this malady was more prevalent in Protestant rather than Catholic societies. With the study of social facts that are the values and social structures outside the person, social scientists thought they could study the behavior not just of the individual but also of the society of which he was part. This would be to determine of the society needed to be reformed or reconstructed

One does not need religion to refer to social facts; there are other parameters in use today to help the social scientist, psychology worker and guidance counselor learn who in society is more susceptible to taking his own life and why. New types of schools for example have developed since Durkheim first expressed his view on social facts and they could be used as a parameter to understand how changes in the educational process have affected the learning.

A few days ago the son of Koenig was reported to have committed suicide. His dad made a mention of his having been depressed recently. That is a leading cause of suicides and can be considered a non-material cause because it can occur independent of any particular institution or physical social structure that characterizes a material social fact (according to Durkheim). One can be aware of the fact that actors are even in more abundance then they were a hundred years ago.

There is not enough work to go around and satisfy them all, yet society still offers people the chance to act, perform and enter into other professions where their strength of character and ability to endure competitive pressures will be tested. Modern society credits the acheiver and sometimes punishes the one who doesn’t succeed and this is something silently passed on for generations. These factors would have affected  the norms and values that made up those non-material social facts in Durkheim’s time.

.