Contemplating Suicide: The Language and Ethics of Self-Harm (Social Ethics and Policy) [Paperback]

Gavin J Fairbairn (Author), Gavin Fairbairn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0415106060 | ISBN-13: 978-0415106061 | Edition: 1

Suicide is devastating. It is an assault on our ideas of what living is about. In Contemplating Suicide Gavin Fairbairn takes fresh look at suicidal self harm. His view is distinctive in not emphasising external facts: the presence or absence of a corpse, along with evidence that the person who has become a corpse, intended to do so. It emphasises the intentions that the person had in acting, rather than the consequences that follow from those actions. Much of the book is devoted to an attempt to construct a natural history of suicidal self harm and to examine some of the ethical issues that it raises. Fairbairn sets his philosophical reflections against a background of practical experience in the caring professions and uses a storytelling approach in offering a critique of the current language of self harm along with some new ways of thinking. Among other things he offers cogent reasons for abandoning the mindless use of terms such as attempted suicide and parasuicide , and introduces a number of new terms including cosmic roulette , which he uses to describe a family of human acts in which people gamble with their lives. By elaborating a richer model of suicidal self harm than most philosophers and most practitioners of caring professions currently inhabit, Fairbairn has contributed to the development of understanding in this area. Among other things a richer model and vocabulary may reduce the likelihood that those who come into contact with suicidal self harm, will believe that familiarity with the physical facts of the matter - the actions of the suicider and the presence or absence of a corpse - is always sufficient to justify a definite conclusion about the nature of the self harming act.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`I recommend this book to anyone ready to reflect on the philosophical basis of health care.' - Nursing Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415106060
• ISBN-13: 978-0415106061
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,616,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best I ever read on suicide and philosophy, September 22, 1998

By 

Stéphane Montigny ([e-mail]) (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contemplating Suicide: The Language and Ethics of Self-Harm (Social Ethics and Policy) (Paperback)

This is the most objective and differentiated book I ever read on suicide and philosophy respectivly philology. It presents the different manifestations of suicide, its problems, on one hand facing common language and on the other hand coping with its usual (mis-)interpretations from its visible results. And, most important for me, it is not glossed over with any kind of idiology. It gives a competent overview over the whole subject and all of its facettes.