Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Beyond the Search for Suigiston: How Evolution Offers Oxygen for Suicidology

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Evolutionary Perspectives on Death

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Psychology ((EVOLPSYCH))

Abstract

For more than a hundred years, suicide researchers have tried to identify conditions that predictably lead people to take their own lives. I call these supposed conditions suigiston, and draw multiple analogies with protracted efforts by 18th Century chemists to find the hypothesized element phlogiston, which transpired not to exist. Challenging a consensus in suicidology, I offer three reasons to doubt that suigiston will be found. First, there is no empirical evidence that it exists. Second, there is no theoretical foundation for the notion either. Third, beyond absence of evidence, evolutionary theory provides positive evidence of absence, on the grounds that natural selection would expectably have exhausted any and all utilizable markers of suicide risk. In other words, suicide is predictably unpredictable. A new "pain-and-brain" model of suicide’s evolutionary origins points to more useful directions for suicide research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    This chapter accepts the need for a typological approach in that it focuses on personal, solo, self-killings—what Cholbi (2017) calls “run-of-the-mill” suicides. It may be that self-killing is an expectable outcome of physician-assisted suicide (Battin, 1998), voluntary executions (K. L. Johnson, 1980), and perhaps other exceptional forms of homicide.

  2. 2.

    There were 5157 deaths from Ebola in the 2014 outbreak (Kalra et al., 2014). According to the WHO (2014), there are globally some 800,000 suicides per year.

  3. 3.

    For general critiques of IPTS and its variants, see Hjelmeland and Knizek (2019) and Paniagua, Black, Gallaway, and Coombs (2010).

  4. 4.

    Not to be confused with W. D. Hamilton, author of the primary texts on this topic (eg, 1972).

  5. 5.

    Zilboorg (1936) cites Achille-Delmas (1932) as the author of this quotation.

  6. 6.

    There are critics: e.g., A. P. Atkinson and Wheeler (2004); Samuels (1998).

  7. 7.

    “Fitness” carries its evolutionary meaning in this chapter, referring to the propagation of genetic material across subsequent generations.

References

  • APA. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. New York, NY: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achille-Delmas, F. (1932). Psychologie pathologique du suicide. Paris, France: Librairie Félix Alcan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, M., Hawkins, J., Pollard, J. A., Catalano, R. F., & Baglioni, A. J. J. (2003). Measuring risk and protective factors for substance use, delinquency, and other adolescent problem behaviors: The Communities That Care Youth Survey. Evaluation Review, 26, 575–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J. M. (1978). Discovering suicide: Studies in the social organization of sudden death. London: MacMillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, A. P., & Wheeler, M. (2004). the grain of domains: The evolutionary-psychological case against domain-general cognition. Mind & Language, 19(2), 147–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aubin, H.-J., Berlin, I., & Kornreich, C. (2013). The evolutionary puzzle of suicide. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 10(12), 6873–6886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baechler, J. (1975/1979). Les Suicides (B. Cooper, Trans.). New York, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battin, M. P. (1998). Physician–assisted suicide: Safe, legal, rare? In M. Battin, R. Rhodes, & A. Silvers (Eds.), Physician assisted suicide: Expanding the debate (pp. 63–72). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F. (1990). Suicide as escape from self. Psychological Review, 97(1), 90–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beaton, S., Forster, P., & Maple, M. (2013). Suicide and language: Why we shouldn’t use the ‘C’ word. InPsych, 35(1), 30–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Kovacs, M., & Weissman, A. (1975). Hopelessness and suicidal behavior: An overview. JAMA, 234(11), 1146–1149.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Begley, M., & Quayle, E. (2007). The lived experience of adults bereaved by suicide: A phenomenological study. Crisis, 28(1), 26–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bering, J. M. (2002). The existential theory of mind. Review of General Psychology, 6(1), 3–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bering, J. M. (2018). A very human ending: How suicide haunts our species. London, UK: Transworld.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohannan, P. (Ed.). (1960). African homicide and suicide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brand, P. W., & Yancey, P. (1993). Pain: The gift nobody wants. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brezo, J., Paris, J., Barker, E. D., Tremblay, R., Vitaro, F., Zoccolillo, M., et al. (2007). Natural history of suicidal behaviors in a population-based sample of young adults. Psychological Medicine, 37(11), 1563–1574.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. F. (1986). Power, gender, and the social meaning of Aguaruna suicide. Man, 21(2), 311–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1990). Toward a biologically informed psychology of personality. Journal of Personality, 58(1), 1–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1997). Human social motivation in evolutionary perspective: Grounding terror management theory. Psychological Inquiry, 8(1), 22–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M., & Penke, L. (2015). Evolutionary personality psychology. In M. Mikulincer, P. R. Shaver, M. L. Cooper, & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology: Vol. 4. Personality processes and individual differences (pp. 3–39). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cain, A. C., & Fast, I. (1966). The legacy of suicide: Observations on the pathogenic impact of suicide upon marital partners. Psychiatry, 29(4), 406–411.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, F. (2001). Living and working in the Canyon of Why. Proceedings of the Irish Association of Suicidology Ireland, 6, 96–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caporael, L. R., & Heyes, C. M. (1997). Why anthropomorphize? Folk psychology and other stories. In R. W. Mitchell, N. S. Thompson, & H. L. Miles (Eds.), Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes, and Animals (pp. 59–73). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, R., Metcalfe, C., & Gunnell, D. (2014). Hospital presenting self-harm and risk of fatal and non-fatal repetition: Systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS One, 9(2), e89944.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, G., Milner, A., McGill, K., Pirkis, J., Kapur, N., & Spittal, M. J. (2017). Predicting suicidal behaviours using clinical instruments: Systematic review and meta-analysis of positive predictive values for risk scales. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(6), 387–395.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cerel, J., Brown, M. M., Maple, M., Singleton, M., van de Venne, J., Moore, M., et al. (2019). How many people are exposed to suicide? Not six. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(2), 529–534.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cha, C. B., Najmi, S., Park, J. M., Finn, C. T., & Nock, M. K. (2010). Attentional bias toward suicide-related stimuli predicts suicidal behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(3), 616.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, M. K., Bhatti, H., Meader, N., Stockton, S., Evans, J., O’Connor, R. C., et al. (2016). Predicting suicide following self-harm: Systematic review of risk factors and risk scales. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(4), 277–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, M., & Proulx, T. (2006). Changing selves in changing worlds: Youth suicide on the fault-lines of colliding cultures. Archives of Suicide Research, 10(2), 125–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D. (1996). Do lemmings commit suicide? Beautiful hypotheses and ugly facts. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiurliza, B., Rogers, M. L., Schneider, M. E., Chu, C., & Joiner, T. E. (2018). Evolutionary processes in suicide. Current Opinion in Psychology, 22, 84–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cholbi, M. (2017). Suicide. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Fall 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2018 from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/suicide/

  • Chow, A. Y. M. (2006). The day after: Experiences of bereaved suicide survivors. In C. L. W. C. Chan & A. Y. M. Chow (Eds.), Death, dying and bereavement: A Hong Kong Chinese experience (Vol. 1, pp. 293–308). Aberdeen, HK: Hong Kong University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chu, J. P., Goldblum, P., Floyd, R., & Bongar, B. (2010). The cultural theory and model of suicide. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 14(1–4), 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, C., Buchman-Schmitt, J. M., Stanley, I. H., Hom, M. A., Tucker, R. P., Hagan, C. R., et al. (2017). The interpersonal theory of suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a decade of cross-national research. Psychological Bulletin, 143(12), 1313–1345.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Comai, S., & Gobbi, G. (2016). Translational research in suicide: Is it possible to study suicide in animal models? In P. Courtet (Ed.), Understanding suicide: From diagnosis to personalized treatment (pp. 177–188). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1994). Beyond intuition and instinct blindness: Toward an evolutionarily rigorous cognitive science. Cognition, 50(1), 41–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Counts, D. (1991). Suicide in different ages from a cross-cultural perspective. In A. A. Leenaars (Ed.), Life span perspectives of suicide (pp. 215–228). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • d’Arms, J., & Jacobson, D. (2000). The moralistic fallacy: On the ‘appropriateness’ of emotions. Philosophical and Phenomenological Research, 61, 65–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London, UK: John Murray.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, B. D. (2000). The scientist’s world. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 64(1), 1–12.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, W. E., & Hicks, J. A. (2013). Judgments of meaning in life following an existential crisis. In J. A. Hicks & C. Routledge (Eds.), The experience of meaning in life (pp. 163–174). New York, NY: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • De Luc, V., Fatemi, A. B., & Hettige, N. (2017). Clinical prediction of suicide attempt in schizophrenia using a machine learning approach. European Psychiatry, 41, S95–S96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • deCatanzaro, D. (1980). Human suicide: A biological perspective. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(02), 265–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • deCatanzaro, D. (1981). Suicide and self-damaging behavior: A sociobiological perspective. New York, NY: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. C. (2013). Intuition pumps and other tools for thinking. New York, NY: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, J. D. (1967). Social meanings of suicide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. (1897/1952). La suicide (J. Spaulding & G. Simpson, Trans.). Henley, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyregrov, K., Plyhn, E., & Dieserud, G. (2012). After the suicide: Helping the bereaved to find a path from grief to recovery. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fallers, L. A., & Fallers, M. C. (1960). Homicide and suicide in Busoga. In P. Bohannan (Ed.), African homicide and suicide (pp. 65–93). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedden, R. (1938). Suicide; a social and historical study. London: Peter Davies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, J. C., Ribeiro, J. D., Fox, K. R., Bentley, K. H., Kleiman, E. M., Huang, X., et al. (2017). Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 143(2), 187–232.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gale, T. M., Hawley, C. J., Butler, J., Morton, A., & Singhal, A. (2016). Perception of suicide risk in mental health professionals. PloS One, 11(2), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, J. P., & Martin, W. T. (1964). Status Integration and Suicide. Eugene, OR: Oregon University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldney, R. D. (1980). Attempted suicide: An ethological perspective. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 10(3), 131–141.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldney, R. D., Smith, S., Winefield, A., Tiggeman, M., & Winefield, H. (1991). Suicidal ideation: Its enduring nature and associated morbidity. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 83(2), 115–120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorelik, G., & Shackelford, T. K. (2017). Suicide and the moralistic fallacy: Comment on Joiner, Hom, Hagan, and Silva (2016). Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-017-0087-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, D., & Shefler, G. (2014). Patient suicide. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 51(3), 193–198.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, J. F. (2017). The Social Pain Model. Crisis, 38(5), 281–286.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, J. F. (2019). The importance of conceptual and theoretical frameworks. In D. Lester (Ed.), The end of suicidology: Can we ever understand suicide? (pp. 135–145). New York, NY: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, J. F., & Lester, D. (2014). Theories of suicide: Past, present and future. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, W. D. (1972). Altruism and related phenomena, mainly in social insects. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 3(1), 193–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, W. J. (1980). Do nonhuman animals commit suicide? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(02), 278–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hankoff, L. D., & Turner, W. J. (1980). A nontheory of suicide. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(02), 279–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, T. O. (Ed.). (2000). Where inner and outer worlds meet: Psychosocial research in the tradition of George W Brown. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendin, H. (1975). Growing up dead: Student suicide. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 29(3), 327–338.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hendin, H., Haas, A. P., Maltsberger, J. T., Szanto, K., & Rabinowicz, H. (2004). Factors contributing to therapists’ distress after the suicide of a patient. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(8), 1442–1446.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hezel, F. X., Rubinstein, D. H., & White, G. M. (Eds.). (1985). Culture, youth and suicide in the Pacific. East-West Center, Honolulu: Pacific Island Studies Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himmelhoch, J. M. (1988). What destroys our restraints against suicide? Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 49(9 (Suppl)), 46–52.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjelmeland, H., & Knizek, B. L. (2019). The emperor’s new clothes? A critical look at the interpersonal theory of suicide. Death Studies, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1527796. Retrieved 24 July 2019 from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2018.1527796?af=R

  • Holbrook, C. (2016). Branches of a twisting tree: Domain-specific threat psychologies derive from shared mechanisms. Current Opinion in Psychology, 7, 81–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hom, M. A., Stanley, I. H., Gutierrez, P. M., & Joiner, T. E. (2017). Exploring the association between exposure to suicide and suicide risk among military service members and veterans. Journal of Affective Disorders, 207, 327–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, N. K. (2018). The lure of death: Suicide and human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hundert, E. M. (1992). The brain’s capacity to form delusions as an evolutionary strategy for survival. In M. Spitzer, F. Uehlein, M. A. Schwartz, & C. Mundt (Eds.), Phenomenology, Language & Schizophrenia (pp. 346–354). New York, NY: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. L. (1980). The death row right to die: Suicide or intimate decision? Southern California Law Review, 54, 575–631.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J., Wood, A. M., Gooding, P., Taylor, P. J., & Tarrier, N. (2011). Resilience to suicidality: The buffering hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(4), 563–591.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E. (2010). Myths about suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., & Stanley, I. H. (2016). Can the phenomenology of a suicidal crisis be usefully understood as a suite of antipredator defensive reactions? Psychiatry, 79(2), 107–119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Selby, E. A., Ribeiro, J. D., Lewis, R., et al. (2009). Main predictions of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior: Empirical tests in two samples of young adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118(3), 634–646.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., Buchman-Schmitt, J. M., Chu, C., & Hom, M. A. (2017). A sociobiological extension of the interpersonal theory of suicide. Crisis, 38(2), 69–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, J. R. (2001). Is suicide bereavement different? A reassessment of the literature. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31(1), 91–102.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, J. R. (2008). Bereavement after suicide. Psychiatric Annals, 38(10), 679–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, J. R., & McIntosh, J. L. (Eds.). (2011). Grief after suicide: Understanding the consequences and caring for the survivors. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalra, S., Kelkar, D., Galwankar, S. C., Papadimos, T. J., Stawicki, S. P., Arquilla, B., et al. (2014). The emergence of Ebola as a global health security threat: From ‘lessons learned’ to coordinated multilateral containment efforts. Journal of global infectious diseases, 6(4), 164–177.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman, S. A. (1993). The origins of order: Self organization and selection in evolution. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Borges, G., Chiu, W. T., Fayyad, J., Browne, M. O., et al. (2012). Persistence of suicidal behaviors over time. In M. K. Nock, G. Borges, & Y. Ono (Eds.), Suicide: Global perspectives from the WHO world mental health surveys (pp. 75–85). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Bernecker, S. L., Bossarte, R. M., Luedtke, A. R., McCarthy, J. F., Nock, M. K.,. VanderWeele, T. J. (2019). The role of big data analytics in predicting suicide. In I. Passos, B. Mwangi, & F. Kapczinski (Eds.), Personalized psychiatry (pp. 77–98). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Navarrete, C. D. (2006). Reports of my death anxiety have been greatly exaggerated: A critique of terror management theory from an evolutionary perspective. Psychological Inquiry, 17(4), 288–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, C. (2007). An imperative theory of pain. The Journal of Philosophy, 104(10), 517–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klonsky, E. D., & May, A. M. (2015). The three-step theory (3ST): A new theory of suicide rooted in the “ideation-to-action” framework. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 8(2), 114–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klonsky, E. D., Saffer, B. Y., & Bryan, C. J. (2018). Ideation-to-action theories of suicide: A conceptual and empirical update. Current Opinion in Psychology, 22, 38–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knizek, B. L., & Hjelmeland, H. (2007). A theoretical model for interpreting suicidal behaviour as communication. Theory & Psychology, 17(5), 697–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Large, M. M. (2013). The relevance of the early history of probability theory to current risk assessment practices in mental health care. History of Psychiatry, 24(4), 427–441.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Large, M. M. (2017, 21 March). Emerging consensus on the positive predictive (and clinical) value of suicide risk assessment. British Journal of Psychiatry, Letter. Retreived 17 May 2017 from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/emerging-consensus-positive-predictive-and-clinical-value-suicide-risk-assessment.

  • Large, M. M., Ryan, C. J., Singh, S. P., Paton, M. B., & Nielssen, O. B. (2011). The predictive value of risk categorization in schizophrenia. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 19(1), 25–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Large, M. M., Kaneson, M., Myles, N., Myles, H., Gunaratne, P., & Ryan, C. J. (2016). Meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies of suicide risk assessment among psychiatric patients: Heterogeneity in results and lack of improvement over time. PLoS One, 11(6), e0156322.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lester, D. (1992). Why people kill themselves: A 1990s summary of research findings on suicidal behavior. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester, D. (1994). Reflections on the statistical rarity of suicide. Crisis 15(4), 187–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester, D. (2019a). The end of suicidology: Can we ever understand suicide? New York, NY: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester, D. (2019b). How culture shapes suicidal behavior. New York, NY: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester, D., & Goldney, R. D. (1997). An ethological perspective on suicidal behavior. New Ideas in Psychology, 15(1), 97–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, M. D. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect. Oxford, UK: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linehan, M. M., Goodstein, J. L., Nielsen, S. L., & Chiles, J. A. (1983). Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself: The reasons for living inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(2), 276–286.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lykken, D. T. (1991). What’s wrong with psychology anyway? In D. Cicchetti & W. M. Grove (Eds.), Thinking clearly about psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 3–39). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, C. W. (2011). The lived experience of mothers bereaved by the suicide death of a child (PhD dissertation). Johnson City, TN: East Tennessee State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, M., & Murphy, T. R. (1990). Sleepless souls: Suicide in early modern England. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maltsberger, J. T. (2003). Can a louse commit suicide? Crisis, 24(4), 175–176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, J. J. (1998). The neurobiology of suicide. Nature Medicine, 4(1), 25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, J. J., & Malone, K. M. (1997). Cerebrospinal fluid amines and higher-lethality suicide attempts in depressed inpatients. Biological Psychiatry, 41(2), 162–171.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, J. J., Waternaux, C., Haas, G. L., & Malone, K. M. (1999). Toward a clinical model of suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(2), 181–189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maris, R. W. (1991). The developmental perspective. In A. A. Leenaars (Ed.), Life span perspectives of suicide (pp. 25–38). New York, NY: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Maris, R. W., Berman, A. L., Maltsberger, J. T., & Yufit, R. I. (1992). Assessment and prediction of suicide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. S., & Demi, A. S. (1992). A comparison of guilt in bereaved parents whose children died by suicide, accident, or chronic disease. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 24(3), 203–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, M. B. (2008). Suicide and Evolution. (Thesis). Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishara, B. L., & Tousignant, M. (2004). Understanding suicide. Montréal, Canada: Press of the Université de Montréal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mugisha, J., Hjelmeland, H., Kinyanda, E., & Knizek, B. L. (2013). Religious views on suicide among the Baganda, Uganda: A qualitative study. Death Studies, 37(4), 343–361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, R., Newton-Howes, G., & Coid, J. W. (2016). The futility of risk prediction in psychiatry. British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(4), 271–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, D., & Devitt, P. (2017, March 28). Suicide risk assessment doesn’t work. Scientific American. Retrieved 14 July 2019 from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/suicide-risk-assessment-doesnt-work/

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, M. F., & Fine, C. (2006). Touched by suicide: Hope and healing after loss. New York, NY: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete, C. D., & Fessler, D. M. (2005). Normative bias and adaptive challenges: A relational approach to coalitional psychology and a critique of terror management theory. Evolutionary Psychology, 3(1), 279–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete, C. D., Kurzban, R., Fessler, D. M., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2004). Anxiety and intergroup bias: Terror management or coalitional psychology? Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 7(4), 370–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuringer, C. (1974). Conclusion. In C. Neuringer (Ed.), Psychological Assessment of Suicidal Risk (pp. 225–229). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • NICE. (2011). Self-harm in over 8s: Long-term management (CG133). London, UK: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nock, M. K., Borges, G., Bromet, E. J., Cha, C. B., Kessler, R. C., & Lee, S. (2012). The epidemiology of suicide and suicidal behavior. In M. K. Nock, G. Borges, & Y. Ono (Eds.), Suicide:Global perspectives from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys(pp. 5–32). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, R. C. (2011). Towards an integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behaviour. In R. C. O’Connor, S. Platt, & J. Gordon (Eds.), International handbook of suicide prevention: Research, policy and practice (pp. 181–198). Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, R. C. (2018). Things I now know: Rory O’Connor. Retrieved 23 July 2019 from https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/news-blog/post/TINK-rory-o-connor.

  • O’Connor, R. C., & Portzky, G. (2018). Looking to the future: A synthesis of new developments and challenges in suicide research and prevention. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(2139), 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oquendo, M. A., & Baca-Garcia, E. (2014). Suicidal behavior disorder as a diagnostic entity in the DSM-5 classification system: Advantages outweigh limitations. World Psychiatry, 13(2), 128–130.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Paniagua, F. A., Black, S. A., Gallaway, M. S., & Coombs, M. A. (2010). The interpersonal-psychological theory of attempted and completed suicide. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peña-Guzmán, D. M. (2017). Can nonhuman animals commit suicide? Animal Sentience, 2(20), 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 882(1), 119–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preti, A. (2011a). Animal model and neurobiology of suicide. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 35(4), 818–830.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Preti, A. (2011b). Do animals commit suicide? Does it matter? Crisis, 32(1), 1–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Preti, A. (2018). Animal suicide: Evolutionary continuity or anthropomorphism? Animal Sentience, 2(20), 10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsden, E., & Wilson, D. (2010). The nature of suicide: Science and the self-destructive animal. Endeavour, 34(1), 21–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ribeiro, J., Franklin, J., Fox, K., Bentley, K., Kleiman, E., Chang, B., et al. (2016). Letter to the Editor: Suicide as a complex classification problem: Machine learning and related techniques can advance suicide prediction—a reply to Roaldset (2016). Psychological Medicine, 46(9), 2009–2010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, J. R. (2001). Theoretical grounding: The “missing link” in suicide research. Journal of Counseling & Development, 79(1), 16–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, J. R., & Apel, S. (2010). Revitalizing suicidology: A call for mixed methods designs. Suicidology Online, 1, 92–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, J. R., & Lester, D. (2010). Understanding suicide: Why we don’t and how we might. Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, M. L., Ringer, F. B., & Joiner, T. E. (2018). The association between suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts is strongest at low levels of depression. Psychiatry Research, 270, 324–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, A. (1954). Detection of suicidal patients: An example of some limitations in the prediction of infrequent events. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 18(6), 397.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, A., Rylander, G., & Sarchiapone, M. (1997). Genetics of suicide. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 836(1), 135–157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samuels, R. (1998). Evolutionary psychology and the massive modularity hypothesis. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 49(4), 575–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selby, E. A., Joiner, T. E., & Ribeiro, J. D. (2014). Comprehensive theories of suicidal behaviors. In M. K. Nock (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of suicide and self-injury (pp. 286–307). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shneidman, E. S. (1996). The suicidal mind. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, M. A. (1976). Self-mutilation and suicide. In E. Shneidman (Ed.), Suicidology: Contemporary developments (pp. 281–316). New York, NY: Grune & Stratton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solano, P., Pizzorno, E., Pompili, M., Serafini, G., & Amore, M. (2018). Conceptualizations of suicide through time and socio-economic factors: A historical mini-review. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 35(1), 75–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soper, C. A. (2018). The evolution of suicide. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Soper, C. A. (2019). Adaptation to the suicidal niche. Evolutionary Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-019-00202-3

  • Soper, C. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2018). If nonhuman animals can suicide, why don’t they? Animal Sentience, 2(20), 14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St John-Smith, P., Michael, A., & Davies, T. (2009). Coping with a coroner’s inquest: A psychiatrist’s guide. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 15(1), 7–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stelmachers, Z. T., & Sherman, R. E. (1992). The case vignette method of suicide assessment. In R. W. Maris, A. L. Berman, J. T. Maltsberger, & R. I. Yufit (Eds.), The assessment and prediction of suicide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Syme, K. L., Garfield, Z. H., & Hagen, E. H. (2016). Testing the bargaining vs. inclusive fitness models of suicidal behavior against the ethnographic record. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37(3), 179–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symons, D. (1987). If we’re all Darwinians, what’s the fuss about? In C. Crawford, M. Smith, & D. Krebs (Eds.), Sociobiology and psychology: Ideas, issues and applications (pp. 121–146). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Symons, D. (1992). On the use and misuse of Darwinism in the study of human behavior. In J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 137–162). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1992). The psychological foundations of culture. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 19–136). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Troister, T., & Holden, R. R. (2010). Comparing psychache, depression, and hopelessness in their associations with suicidality: A test of Shneidman’s theory of suicide. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(7), 689–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tryon, W. W. (2016). Transtheoretic transdiagnostic psychotherapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 26(3), 273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turecki, G. (2005). Dissecting the suicide phenotype: The role of impulsive-aggressive behaviours. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 30(6), 398–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tybur, J. M., & Navarrete, C. D. (2018). Interrupting bias in social psychology: Evolutionary psychology as a guide. In J. T. Forgas & L. Jessum (Eds.), The politics of social psychology (pp. 247–264). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Heeringen, K., & Mann, J. J. (2014). The neurobiology of suicide. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 63–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S. R., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • von Andics, M. (1947). Suicide and the meaning of life. London, UK: Hodge.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (1996). Prevention of suicide: Guidelines for the formulation and implementation of national strategies. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2012). Public health action for the prevention of suicide: A framework. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2014). Preventing suicide: A global imperative. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waesche, M. C., Clark, C. B., & Cropsey, K. L. (2016). The connection between thwarted belongingness, alcohol consumption, suicidal, and homicidal ideation in a criminal justice sample. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 10(6), 437–442.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, C. G., Ribeiro, J. D., & Franklin, J. C. (2017). Predicting risk of suicide attempts over time through machine learning. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(3), 457–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, J. C., DeSilva, J. M., & Stock, J. T. (2012). The obstetric dilemma: An ancient game of Russian roulette, or a variable dilemma sensitive to ecology? American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149(S55), 40–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wertheimer, A. (2014). A special scar: The experiences of people bereaved by suicide (3rd ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. C. (1966). Adaptation and natural selection: A critique of some current evolutionary thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. M. G. (1997). Cry of pain: Understanding suicide and self-harm. London, UK: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. C., & Williams, D. C. (1957). Natural selection of individually harmful social adaptations among sibs with special reference to social insects. Evolution, 11, 32–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. (1994). The moral animal: Why we are, the way we are: The new science of evolutionary psychology. New York, NY: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeh, B. Y., & Lester, D. (1987). An economic model for suicide. In D. Lester (Ed.), Suicide as a learned behavior (pp. 51–57). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zilboorg, G. (1936). Differential diagnostic types of suicide. Archives of Neurology & Psychiatry, 35(2), 270–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Private Practice, Lisbon, Portugal

    C. A. Soper PhD

Authors
  1. C. A. Soper PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Soper, C.A. (2019). Beyond the Search for Suigiston: How Evolution Offers Oxygen for Suicidology. In: Shackelford, T.K., Zeigler-Hill, V. (eds) Evolutionary Perspectives on Death. Evolutionary Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25466-7_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation