Efficiency Above All: A Biological Look at Suicide
"And let me ask you this; the dead,
where aren't they?"
– Franz Wright, New Yorker Magazine, Oct. 6, 2003
"Dear Mom and Dad," the letter begins benignly, "Thank you for all of your commitment. But I am not a suitable daughter, and you will all be better off without me. Please realize I have done this for your own good." Nothing more. And beside it, Mr. and Mrs. A find their daughter, dead by her own hand.
So begin the episodes of anguished soul-searching, of horrific "if-onlys" experienced by the family members of countless suicides. Anyone who has faced what Mr. and Mrs. A now grapple with knows that the girl is wrong: they will not be better off, not feel happier, without her. Yet each year, thousands of suicide victims express similar convictions: I am killing myself, they reassure us, for your own good. This thinking – this appeal for selflessness that our society cannot condone – where does it come from? Why, in truth, do people kill themselves?
The problem of suicide ravages the minds of its survivors – of philosophers – and, more recently, of psychologists. We simply cannot understand it. Why suicide? While many non-biological scientists are inclined to define suicide as a conscious act – thereby excluding, perhaps, all non-human self-inflicted deaths (1), (2) – lets us stick with the more basic definition of suicide as self-murder, with or without cognitive "knowledge" or "intent" (***). And, as the concerned psychologists plunge on in their direction, let us examine this problem from a different standpoint, that of biology. In order to make sense of the biology of suicide, however, we must first understand the more general omnipresent phenomenon: death....
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...ants, a good description of self-destruction of cells, this time in plants
http://www.sebiology.org/bulletin/july2002/plant.htm
9)Foucault , Michael. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Random House: New York, 1977.
10) Weizmann Institute of Science: Death of a Cell, a discussion of one series of studies of cellular apoptosis
http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/site/EN/weizman.asp?pi=422&doc_id=436&interID=138&sq=138
NOT CITED IN TEXT
11) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/07/970722090258.htm>Stopping "Cellular Suicide" Could Boost Production in Biotech Labs, a look at some of the cons of cellular suicide in terms of technology
12)Researchers Find New Way to Trigger Self-Destruction of Certain Cancer Cells, a scheme for putting cellular suicide to use for humans!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-06/sjcr-rfn061803.php
While many support embryonic stem cell research, some people oppose it say that it is an unethical practice. According to these people, embryonic stem cells require murdering a baby, human life is defined by rational beings, those capable of rational thought or a consciousness. In order to be rational one must have a consciousness, the ability to have thoughts and feel pain, to begin with. “For a fertilized egg, there is no consciousness and also no history of consciousness” (Stem). If abortions are allowed within the United States, why shouldn’t embryonic stem cell research be? Another claim against embryonic stem cell research is that it devalues human lives. “Some argue that researching embryonic stem cells will lead us into cloning technology” (Embryonic). While embryonic cloning is a possibility, we already possess the capabilities to clone so cloning is an invalid argument. The final argument against embryonic stem cell research is that there are alternatives, like adult stem cells. While adult stem cells may be utilized, they won’t be as effective. Embryonic stem cells are not only efficient but also renewable. They can be grown in a culture where as adult stem cells are extremely rare, if there are any. They can only be found in mature tissue. Isolating these extremely rare cells is challenging and has a high failure rate if not harvested correctly. “One major difference between adult and embryonic stem cells is their different abilities in the number and type of differentiated cell types they can become” (Stem). Using adult stem cells we might never understand our development from conception ...
Experimentation with embryonic stem cells has become an important breakthrough in current medical research. Why is this? According to Medical News Today, these embryonic stem cells are considered the most useful for research due to their pluripotent nature (MNT, July 2013). What this means according the National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Information Center, is that embryonic stem cells are considered to be unspecialized or master cells. Being unspecialized or “undifferentiated” in sci...
“In November of 1998, scientists reported that they had successfully isolated and cultured human embryonic stem cells a feature which had eluded researchers for almost two decades.”(The center for bioethics & human dignity, n.d.). This announcement kicked off an intense and unrelenting debate between those who approve of embryonic stem cell research and those who are opposed to it. “Some of the most prominent advocates of the research are scientists and patients who believe that embryonic stem cell research will lead to the development of treatments and cures for some of humanity’s most pernicious afflictions (such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and diabetes).”(The center for bioethics & human dignity, n.d.). Among the most vocal opponents of the research are those who share the desire to heal, but who object to the pursuit of healing via unethical means. CBHD’s view is that because human embryonic stem cell research necessitates the destruction of human embryos, such research is unethical regardless of its alleged benefits. Ethical alternatives for achieving those benefits should be actively pursued.
Embryonic stem cell research is, perhaps, one of the most divisive ethical issues of the millennium. These cells are thought by many to hold the cures for such diseases as diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease and even cancer. Some researchers believe that these cells could heal spinal cord injuries, allowing a once paralyzed man to walk again. Despite the numerous potential benefits, the issue is exceedingly controversial and has sparked much debate, primarily over one sole reason: embryonic stem cell research causes the destruction of an embryo. This debate can be epitomized into two questions: when does human life begin and what makes an organism human. The answers to these questions are usually opinionated and not backed
The Partition of India led to millions of people displaced and marked as one of the largest mass migration ever over the world. August 15, 1947 was a very significant day for Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and many others. It marked the day of the British partition of India, and India won its freedom from colonial rule, ending nearly 200 years of British rule. This successful attainment of independence from colonial rule defined a narrative of religious nationalism, but also has led to displacement and violence between the two nation states of India and Pakistan. Once a peaceful union of Muslims and Hindus had become separated, whereas Muslims got Pakistan and Hindus got an independent India (Best et al, 2008). “The Other Side of Silence” (Butalia, 2000, pp.264-300) the oral testimony of a Punjabi woman Maya Rani, who was a child living in Pakistan during the Partition. Her testimony was crucial to understand the historiography of the event, because she was a witness of the impact of the Partition, but she was not directly involved in the violence that the emergence and independence of India that has brought.
socially which are; high rate of Mounting Demographic Pressures, Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons, Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Group Paranoia, Chronic and Sustained Human Flight. Economically: Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines, Sharp and/or Severe Economic Decline. Politically: Criminalization and/or De-legitimization of the State, Progressive Deterioration of Public Services, Suspension or Arbitrary Application of the Rule of Law and Widespread Human Rights Abuse, Security Apparatus Operates as a "State Within a State", Rise
Foucault, M. (1995) Discipline and Punishment The Birth of the Prison [online]. 2nd ed. USA: Penguin Books, Ltd. [Accessed 01 January 2014].
... the evidence changed in his later works). He has been widely criticised for his use of official statistics, which are open to interpretation and subject to possibly systematic misreporting, and therefore may not represent the true pattern or rates of suicide. It is also argued that he was confused between the distinction between egoism and anomie, and that he failed to substantiate his claims of the existence of altruism and fatalism; this is argued to such an extent that it has even been suggested that there is only one cause of suicide (egoism) that Durkheim could claim to be true. However, whilst acknowledging some of Durkheim’s own contradictions or confusions, some sociologists have gone on to develop and substantiate the ideas that he developed, and there is no denying that his study of suicide is a far-reaching and legacy-building work of substantial value.
Syed Mansoor Hussain is a columnist in “Daily Times”, a Pakistani newspaper. He has practiced and taught medicine in the US. This article, “Proud to be a Punjabi” was published in the Daily Times on the fifth of February, 2014. In the article, the author has described the role and significance of Punjab in the history of Pakistan. In addition to this, he has tried to prove that Punjab is not responsible for everything bad happening in the other provinces. The author has described the role of Punjab before and after independence in the Pakistani politics. The author also says that whatever happens in other provinces, Punjab and Punjabis are held responsible for it. In the end, the author has highlighted a few cultural aspects of Punjab.
“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain” (I-10). Ending a life is a big step in the wrong direction for most. Suicide is the killing of oneself. Suicide happens every day, and everyday a family’s life is changed. Something needs to be done to raise awareness of that startling fact. Suicide is a much bigger problem than society will admit; the causes, methods, and prevention need to be discussed more openly.
Khan, Yasmin. The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan. New Haven: Yale UP, 2007. Print.
...entiate states of India and Pakistan, and this was ready to make states reflecting the country state perfect. India is an overwhelmingly Hindu nation made complete out of individuals united by religion and social likenesses, and Pakistan is a dominatingly Muslim nation whose populace is glad for its homogeneous Muslim religion and society. The borders were established to correspond and additionally conceive with the ethnic limits, so the current outskirts strived to keep Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus in India. Shockingly, it was not drawn well, and a mass relocation of Hindus into India and Muslims into Pakistan brought on an unsafe time of religious and ethnic strain between the two countries. Regardless of beginning strains, the outskirt between India and Pakistan has been moderately compelling in minimizing ethnic and religious pressures as the British trusted.
Suicide has become a critical, national problem and the extent of this is mind-boggling. Suicides have been proven to be one of the leading causes of death among college students. According to Webters dictionary “suicide is the act killing oneself on purpose”. It derived from the Latin sui, meaning “self”, and caedere, which means “to kill”. But this is just a definition, because an actual suicide holds different meanings to people such as tragic, shocking, a relief, a cry for help, a shame, heroic, the right choice, punishment, revenge, protest, anger, a mistake, desperate, hurtful and many more. But why do people, like college students who have their entire future ahead of them, simply give up hope and turn their heads away from life and commit suicide. There are several causes of suicide, recent incidents of suicide on college campuses, warning signs from a suicidal. I blame the Constitution and the United States law for not taking any hard initiative on the subject of suicide. I also impose the choice of the media, which is reflecting and portraying suicide towards a wrong direction. However most important questions remain: can the growing epidemic of suicide be solved, what are communities doing about it and what can they do to help?
Basic Principle:-The basic principle of the technique can be demonstrated by referring to the 400KV, EHV (Electrical High Voltage) transmission network, shown in figure(9). Relays are installed at the bus bars P,Q,R and S and are responsible for the protection of the network . The protection of the network PQR and tripping of the breakers associated with that network is studied. High frequency signals are generated at the fault point and travel outward from that point along the network conductors. In time they reach the monitored bus bar are detected by the relays connected to them. Each relay record the arrival instant of the signal generated by the fault. The recorded arrival
As the Hindu’s in northwest India moved south, the Muslims moved north into Pakistan; millions were displaced, thousands were slaughtered as a result of the riots and the birth of both countries was met with death and destruction. Many believe that Muslims went along with the partition and moved to Pakistan “not because they viewed it, as official Pakistani narrative suggests, as the lan...