Emile Durkheim's account of anomie, a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of moral values, standards or guidance, arising when rapid social change outpaces the development of shared norms. Durkheim linked this normlessness to social pathologies including suicide, and Robert K. Merton later adapted the concept into strain theory's account of crime. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountRapid social change can outpace the development of shared moral norms, leaving individuals without adequate regulation or attachment to society, a normlessness linked to social pathologies including crime. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account1893, De la division du travail social; developed further in 1897, Le Suicide. Standing CritiqueSourced to the subject's own accountDurkheim himself never used the word normlessness; the now-common normlessness reading of anomie began with Talcott Parsons in 1937 and Robert K. Merton in 1957, a later reinterpretation rather than Durkheim's own formulation, which he described in terms of derangement and an insatiable will. 1 Connections
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Anomie
Informed
Robert K. Merton adapted Durkheim's concept of anomie into strain theory's account of how blocked goals produce crime.
Source Wikipedia: Anomie
Held Differently
Durkheim's anomie concept responds to the Classical School's assumption of rational, uniformly deterred actors by locating crime causation in social structure rather than individual calculation.
Source Wikipedia: Emile Durkheim
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Anomie
Lead section
a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow.
History section
Durkheim never used the term 'normlessness'
View the SourceWikipedia: Emile Durkheim
Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of Sociology): Anomie
Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of Sociology)In Group: Strain and Anomie Theories, Page textQuote, In Group: Strain and Anomie Theories, Page text
For sociologists, anomie is most frequently associated with Emile Durkheim, although others used it differently even during his lifetime (Wolff 1988).
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