The History of Suicide

Author: George Minowara
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: What in human behavior is more special than suicide? The "suicide" of animals is absurd; only humans reflect on their own existence and then decide whether to continue or end it. Some people make the decision that life is not worth living, choosing to leave the world before illness, aging, or war arrive. Are they mad? Or are they simply proving that they possess the highest mastery over life? This book reviews Western society's views on voluntary death since the 16th century, with a particular focus on the 16th and 18th centuries, as this period saw the most prominent reflections on suicide. The 19th and 20th centuries saw rapid development in the humanities, with vast statistical data on suicide, so this era of suicide phenomena also receives special attention from the author. Why do some people choose death in specific eras? Everyone has their own reasons, the key is to try to understand them, as their attitudes reveal the value of life in society. This attitude is both personal and inseparable from the influence of collective and era.