Emile Durkheim, a foundational figure in sociology, introduced the concept of 'social facts' to establish sociology as a distinct scientific discipline. Social facts are the values, cultural norms, and social structures that transcend the individual and are capable of exercising social control. They are the collective representations of society that shape individual behavior and consciousness.

Characteristics of a 'Social Fact':

1. Externality: Social facts exist outside the individual consciousness. They are not created by any single person but are products of collective life. For example, language, laws, and moral codes existed before any individual was born and will continue to exist after they die.
2. Coercion: Social facts exert a coercive power over individuals, compelling them to act in certain ways. This coercion can be formal (e.g., legal sanctions for breaking laws) or informal (e.g., social disapproval for violating norms). Individuals often conform to social facts without even realizing the pressure, as they have internalized these norms.
3. Generality: Social facts are collective phenomena, common to a significant portion of a society. They are not idiosyncratic individual behaviors but rather patterns of behavior, thought, and feeling that are widely shared within a social group.
4. Independence: Social facts exist independently of their individual manifestations. While they are expressed through individual actions, they are not reducible to those actions. For instance, the institution of marriage exists regardless of any specific marriage.

Suicide Rate as a Social Fact According to Durkheim: Durkheim famously argued in his work 'Suicide' that even an intensely personal act like suicide could be understood as a social fact. He was not interested in individual suicides but in the rate of suicide within a given society or social group. He posited that this rate is a social fact because:

1. Externality: The suicide rate is external to any individual. It is a statistical aggregate that reflects the state of the collective, not the psychological state of a single person.
2. Coercion: The rate of suicide is influenced by the levels of social integration and moral regulation within a society, which exert a coercive influence on individuals. Societies with very low or very high integration/regulation tend to have higher suicide rates. For example, a lack of social ties (low integration) can lead to egoistic suicide, while excessive integration (e.g., military sacrifice) can lead to altruistic suicide. Similarly, a breakdown of moral norms (anomie) can lead to anomic suicide.
3. Generality: The suicide rate is a collective phenomenon that varies systematically across different social groups (e.g., by religion, marital status, economic conditions) and societies. These variations are not random but follow predictable patterns linked to social structures.
4. Independence: The social forces that determine the suicide rate operate independently of the specific individuals who commit suicide. The rate persists and changes based on societal conditions, not just individual psychological predispositions. Thus, the suicide rate is a measurable indicator of the health and stability of a society's social fabric, making it a quintessential social fact.