What is a social fact?

• What is a social fact? Is suicide a social fact according to Durkheim? Why (not)? What is Durkheim’s definition of suicide and what are its main types? (=Name, define, and give examples for the types!) What is the main methodological contribution of Suicide?

• 2. What is the essence of religion for Durkheim? What is its social function? What are its origins? How is Durkheim’s analysis of religion problematic with respect to his handling of variation in cultural forms, especially cases that are most different from the “west”?