Social Solidarity, Integration, and Interaction in
During the 19th century, the field of social sciences have beenintroduced with the revolutionary ideas of a French social theorist in theperson of Emile Durkheim, author of the well-known discourse on socialintegration and solidarity, "Suicide: A Study in Sociology." In this discourse, Durkheim illustrates suicide as a phenomenon wherethe process of social integration and disintegration is evident. Using thescientific method tradition in studying this phenomenon, Durkheim positsthat "social structures of high intensity prevent the individual fromkilling him/herself" (Collins, 1994:184). He uses both sociology andanthropology in illustrating this point, and other viewpoints regarding theissue of social integration and disintegration in his discussion of thesuicide phenomenon. In proving his stance that social solidarity plays anessential role as a process that encourages people to integrate themselvesand be included within groups in the society, he proposes the Law of SocialGravity, which centers on social integration, solidarity, and interaction Using the framework of Durkheim's Law of Social Gravity in thecontext of the suicide phenomenon, this paper di
Groupswithin the society also help integrate an individual in the society, givinghim/her a sense of identity and belongingness in that group, and in effect,in the society as well. This is due to the psychological andphysiological effects of drug addiction, but more so because isolation fromthe society leads an individual to resort to activities that will makehim/her compensate for this isolation through drug addiction. A sub-group will form an identity of itself in the society, wherepeople identify its members as affiliates of the said group. (makesan individual) less individualistic. Although sometimes gangs are considered anti-social in the society, theirintegration as a group within a society illustrates the process ofintegration, interaction, and solidarity that explains why there are lessoccurrences of suicides among gang members, especially those belonging tothe lower socio-economic class. More specifically, this paper studiesthe relationship of Durkheim's sociological theories in discussing theissues of gang behavior of the lower class youth and drug behavior amongthe middle class youth, two examples of social integration anddisintegration in the society, respectively. Geographically, gangs are often situated in the urban areas thatare highly congested, a primary characteristic of societies with highsocial densities. In The Law of Social Gravity, Durkheim explains how physicalstructure of an environment or local area influences the social structureof its people. By stating that social ties play an important role in integrating anindividual in the society, Durkheim proposes the Law of Social Gravity toillustrate concretely his point.
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