Edward Hoagland, the author of Heaven and Nature, writes about suicide and how one’s mental stability can affect her death. The author writes, “the deed [suicide] can be… plainly insane,” (508-9). Through various claims, Hoagland argues that one will only commit suicide if she is mentally unstable. Hoagland discusses that in order to live life, one must create a sense of identity of themselves and with her environment, “life is a matter of cultivating the six senses, and an equilibrium with nature,” (508). The author uses the term equilibrium to suggest that life requires stability, which is a result of a calm state of mind. The primary argumentation type throughout Heaven and Nature is pathos; he elaborates on his own beliefs and emotions,
arguing without a clear sense of professional authority. However, Edward Hoagland discusses his own personal experience with depression and suicidal thoughts, “...” His continued claims about nature help the reader understand the correlation between mental illness and suicide. “I’m reluctant to agree with the idea that suicide is not the result of mental illness… it goes against the grain of nature for him to destroy himself,” (511). The image of a “grain of nature” illustrates the significance of a single soul towards the universe as a whole; with mental illness, the grain gets lost amongst the field of grain and it loses its identity. Ultimately, Edward Hoagland suggests the importance of focusing on one’s environment rather than worrying about herself because “people with sunny natures do seem to live longer than people who are nervous wrecks,” (518). Hoagland also uses rhetorical strategies such as contrasting parallels to further argue his claim: the Christmas carol “let heaven and nature sing… repeat the surrounding joy…” to his title, Heaven and Nature, which regards suicide and depression. There is a clear contrast between joyful and depression/ suicide. Heaven and nature parallel G-d, spiritual beliefs, and man. When they ___ it causes a schism and ultimately loses its equilibrium.
Michaelson, Peter. “A Hidden Reason for Suicidal Thoughts”(2013). Why We Suffer. n.pag. Web. 2 Apr. 2014
This fictional story, Lusus Laturae, is written by Margaret Atwood. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the origin of the Lusus Naturae is from Latin and the meaning is “freak of nature.” That is direct enough to assume the story is about a monster figure that will be a symbol of the story. According to the book “Freak of Nature,” the history of freak of nature to scientists and philosophers is an unfortunate, grotesque creature because it is odd or abnormal such as a conjoined twin which has two heads and shared a body (Blumberg 5). The criterion of being odd or abnormal starts from the visual difference seen by people. In the story, through the narration and point of view, character, symbol and figurative language, plot, and setting, it is revealed that the society and even the family ostracizes the protagonist who is defined as a monster due to her different appearance from others.
... does not withstand the argument of suicide because it challenges his theory of having the desire to live. Having a desire to live means you look forward to the good in your life and a suicidal person does not, therefore is not compatible with the desire account.
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....
The thought of life coming to an end is a scary thought for anyone, but for someone who is depressed and suicidal it may seem to them as a release of some kind. In reality is suicide going to solve these patient’s problems? The patient may think so, but it will not solve any issues or problems. Suicide is a pertinent solution that no one can return from. My experience with depressed and suicidal people or patients is small. This is why I chose to write about patients who are depressed and suicidal. Even though my experience is small. I want to learn what can be done for these patients, and how I can be a better advocate for them.
Thomas Joiner, a psychology professor used his life experiences to argue in his book “ Why People Die By Suicide”. The basis of this book revolves around the traumatic loss of Joiners father who had committed suicide. Forcing Joiner to question his own life and what posses one to participate in the act of suicide. Through this Joiner developed his Interpersonal-Psychological theory to illustrate the “why?” behind suicide. The theory explains that before one commits the act of suicide one must have been presented with the desire to do so. Joiner argues against this theory saying multiple factors lead into suicide. He uses terms throughout his book known as
... 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.
With each analysis the reader gets a greater understanding of suicide and the mental state of those who commit it, as well as some of their motives. One could read only a single chapter of this book and gain a greater understanding than they previously had on the topic of suicide, but when one brings all the chapters together as a whole a much deeper understanding is obtained. Lester’s analyses start with diaries, using that of a girl he has called Katie as his first example. In this 14 page chapter he analyses her diary, not only comparing her to Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but using that comparison to show some of her motives and to make sense of them. It is this astute analysis that sets the tone for the rest of the similar chapters, in a way that is not boring but is not lighthearted in the slightest. The way that the whole book works together to give one insight on the topic of suicide makes it a useful resource for those who wish to understand it in a more in-depth way.
Moreover, mood disorder is correlated to the concept of suicide. Suicide is a wide-known concept and option that some individuals opt for, whether he or she is in a conscious or an unconscious state of mind. Normally, such a “permanent” treatment is sought when a person is in stress or depression, that they ultimately cannot handle the overload and/or have no hope in themselves. Typically, those who have a psychological disorder have a higher suicidal rate. Those who have suicida...
Nevertheless no suicide note is able to give a complete account of the suicidal mind. Such a note must be put in the context of the individual life as Shneidman said (1980) and in the context of broad theoretical formulations about suicide and personality functioning in general as stated by Leenaars (1988) if one wants to understand the motives lying behind.
Camus once said: “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.”(1991, pp.15) His words reflect the fact that the meaning of life and the relationship between life and death have always been fundamental and significant to philosophical thinkers. This essay is to discuss Heidegger, the famous German philosopher’s view of death, and present one objection from Sartre, and finally analyse the correctness of Sartre’s objection.
Deathly acts such as murdering, homicide, and genocide are acts that are associated with anger, pride, and even jealously, but none compare to the actions of suicide which are associated with sadness, grief, pain, that encircle and bound the victim, such so that he cannot see a way out. Furthermore, suicide is cause by many factors; some aspects are detectable, while others are not. In addition, suicide are caused by many elements including; emotional, physical, and psychological (genetics) they are also different in retrospective to age and gender. Lastly, there are many reasons and aspects to suicide, and while others are easy to tell why, others are not.
Suicide has become one of the many means that problematic individuals take into consideration to exempt from an unpleasant or oppressive situation. Suicide can be generally defined as the act of causing one’s death usually out of despair. People who are likely to commit suicide are those who suffer from severe mental illnesses and are involved with alcohol and drugs. Other than that, individuals who are experiencing unemployment and divorce can also be possible victims to commit such act. Based on the study done in the year 1997, an average of fifteen-percent who are clinically depressed ended up committing suicide. Furthermore, suicide was the eighth leading cause of death in the US (“Suicide”). It is prevalent for depressed individuals to consider suicide when major issues in life do not work out well. The big question is, what makes a person thinks that ending his or her life can help oneself to escape from the reality when life has so much more to offer?
The sunset was not spectacular that day. The vivid ruby and tangerine streaks that so often caressed the blue brow of the sky were sleeping, hidden behind the heavy mists. There are some days when the sunlight seems to dance, to weave and frolic with tongues of fire between the blades of grass. Not on that day. That evening, the yellow light was sickly. It diffused softly through the gray curtains with a shrouded light that just failed to illuminate. High up in the treetops, the leaves swayed, but on the ground, the grass was silent, limp and unmoving. The sun set and the earth waited.
In 1950s America, the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis were beginning to be reexamined and expanded as more cases of mental distress and disorders were uncovered that no one knew how to treat. These cases could often related back to one main theme, which was unhappiness in one aspect of an individual’s life. This problem area could be home life, work, social status, or a number of other areas. No matter what the root of the problem, the issue always caused a person to feel inconsequential and their minds would spiral down a negative path until they were no longer, by society’s terms, sane. Existentialists, those who believe individuals should be responsible for developing how they want and when they want, viewed these allegedly crazy people as developing at their own pace. They did not believe, however, that these people were discovering the meaning of their life as they were, more often than not, unhappy with their lives. The existentialists believed that when one does not aim for a specific goal or yearn to find meaning in their life, they are not living their life the way it was intended. The existential view emphasized a person or individual being responsible for determining their development on their own terms and discovering the meaning in life. When the mind gets in the way, in cases such as psychopathy, it does not allow for the individual to discover the true meaning of their own life as their judgment may become clouded by their current state of mind. The mind has a great deal of power in the matter of deciding whether a person will succeed on the existential path or if they will go down the path of psychopathy. This power can do a person a lot of good but it may also cause them a lot of stress and harm ...