gam@proper.UUCP (Gordon Moffett) (03/01/84)
~ I am somewhat annoyed by these pseudo-psychological/Romanticist ideas about why people commit suicide ("fear", "courage", "not caring about other people", etc). If you'd just bother to look up some psychological references on the subject rather than philosophize about behavior we might get somewhere here. From "Psychology and Life" by Phillip Zimbardo (an introductory college psych text), p 547: "...Without question, the single most outstanding characteristic of those who attempt suicide is depression. "A study of 384 suicide attempters clearly indicates that hopelessness is the catalytic agent in suicidal behavior.... "Any sudden and radical change that removes an individual's basic sources of security and predictability can make that person more susceptible to suicide...." It would be most interesting to discuss the causes of suicide and the behavior of suicidal people, but if you want to philosophize we do have a net.philosophy.