Evolution of Suicide

This thought-provoking volume offers a distinctly human evolutionary analysis of a distinctly human behaviour: suicide. Its 'pain and brain' model posits animalian emotion as the motivator for suicidal escape, but specific human cognitive adaptations as supplying the means, while also providing a plausible explanation for why only a relatively small number of humans actually take their own lives. The author hypothesises two types of anti-suicide systems called krols and shiltons, active and reactive mechanisms prompted by the brain to obstruct suicide, manifest in a diversity of human psychological phenomena that are otherwise hard to explain. Among these is the intriguing proposal that some symptoms of common mental disorders such as depression and addiction, long associated with suicidality, may serve as survival measures. Among the topics covered: · Suicide as an evolutionary puzzle. · An account of animals' and young children's immunity to suicide. · Suicide as a by-product of pain and human cognition. · Psychodynamic defences, regulating the experiencing of painful events. · Positive psychology in autonomic suicide prevention. · The protective role of spiritual and religious belief. · The suicide taboo as a krol system. In raising and considering key questions regarding this most controversial act, The Evolution of Suicide will appeal to researchers across a range of behavioral science disciplines. At the same time, the book's implications for clinical intervention and prevention will make it useful among mental health professionals and those involved with mental health policy.