Citation

Preti A. Etudes sur la Mort 2006; 130(2): 89-104.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006)

DOI

10.3917/eslm.130.0089

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

According to Freud all suicides contemplate both a wish to die, stimulated by a pressure to self-destruction that cannot be worked through, and the intent to harm anyone the suicidal person thinks has caused the unbearable pain that compels him/her to self-murder. However, classical literature and ethnographic sources provide evidence of three classes of suicide with a clearly declared hostile and aggressive intent: suicide for revenge, mainly diffused in the Greek area but reported in Oceania as well; the so-called "Samsonic" suicide, reported in the Middle East and frica; and suicide by "devotio", accomplished by Roman soldiers mainly. The dynamics of these forms of suicide might characterise other life-threatening behaviours, including the modern assault technique by suicide bombers, or the pathological self-destructive behaviour of the spree killers who take revenge by immolating themselves together with the largest number of victims they can, as in the Columbine incident. A more thorough investigation of the dynamics operating in the hitherto proposed class of "suicide with hostile intent" could help plan preventative strategies against violence at large. According to Freud all suicides contemplate both a wish to die, stimulated by a pressure to self-destruction that cannot be worked through, and the intent to harm anyone the suicidal person thinks has caused the unbearable pain that compels him/her to self-murder. However, classical literature and ethnographic sources provide evidence of three classes of suicide with a clearly declared hostile and aggressive intent: suicide for revenge, mainly diffused in the Greek area but reported in Oceania as well; the so-called "Samsonic" suicide, reported in the Middle East and Africa; and suicide by "devotio", accomplished by Roman soldiers mainly. The dynamics of these forms of suicide might characterise other life- threatening behaviours, including the modern assault technique by suicide bombers, or the pathological self-destructive behaviour of the spree killers who take revenge by immolating themselves together with the largest number of victims they can, as in the Columbine incident. A more thorough investigation of the dynamics operating in the hitherto proposed class of "suicide with hostile intent" could help plan preventative strategies against violence at large.

Language: en

Keywords

Prevention; Suicide; Violence; Aggression; Mythology; Psychosocial factors; Greek world/history