Introduction Emile Durkheim was a prominent French sociologist of the 19 th and early 20 th century. He conducted a research about suicide in with aim of formally establishing Sociology as one of the social sciences (Simpson, 2002). Together with other like-minded individuals including Max Weber and Karl Max, they are acknowledged as pioneers of Sociology as a discipline in modern social science. Durkheim published several works touching on how the society could be ordered in the modern age by living in harmony and upholding integrity (Durkheim & Buss, 2006). Most sociologists of his time were concerned with understanding the changing society where the social and religious practices of the past were being eroded by modernization. Although Durkheim conducted several studies and wrote on many topics in the field of sociology, this essay will discuss his views about suicide. It will explain the differences between anomic, altruistic and egoistic, as well as fatalistic suicide. View about Suicide In 1897, Durkheim published the findings of his study in the Suicide which is still a favorite reference for modern day sociologists. He was known as a fierce critique of the approaches use by sociologists. According to him, sociologists should use sociological data that examines the rates of given behavior instead of psychological data (Simpson, 2002). Determined to establish sociology as a social science, he used various data which had been collected for administrative purposes to scientifically analyze the suicide rates among Protestants and Catholics. The decision to use the already existing data to analyze rates of behavior was aimed at established the concept of social fact; that all social phenomena exist in and of themselves and are not determined by activities of individuals (Simpson, 2002). Durkheim argued that religion plays a significant role in the community and influenced the behavior of the members of a given society. He posed a number of questions concerning suicide: Why do commit suicide? What goes wrong? Why are the rates varying across places? He said that understanding suicide is the key to understanding how individuals relate to society. He concluded from the findings of his study that there were lower rates of suicide among the Catholics due to the firm grip and control this religion had on the community. He argued that people have a tendency of wanting to belong to a given group, a term the he refers to as social integration (Durkheim & Buss, 2006). Furthermore, Durkheim pointed out that excessively high or low levels of association among members of the society were responsible for increased suicide rates. The explanation for this claim is that low levels of attachment in groups cause disorderliness in the society and in turn the chaotic state pushes individuals to commit suicide as an escape option. According to Durkheim, a high sense of attachment in the society gives people a notion of being a burden on others and hence develop high suicidal tendencies to avoid being too much of a burden to the society (Simpson, 2002). In explaining the differing rates of suicide, he noted that normal levels of association are to be found among the Catholics while the