Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 17:40:09 -0700
Subject: GS: suicide

  I don't know if anyone commented on this list, but ...

  In general-semantics, we're interested in, among other things, how
symbols influence human behavior.  The media provides us with many,
many examples, and one jumped out at me recently.  According to the
newsradio reports I've heard, an Admiral (sorry, I didn't catch his
name) committed suicide apparently because two of the medals he'd
been wearing were called into question ... it would seem that he
might not really have earned them, and rather than confess that and
tarnish the good image of the Navy, he committed suicide instead!
I don't know ... that sounds like a rather extreme reaction if you
ask me ;-).  Consider it this way: a man wears a number of medals,
symbols for heroism and other such actions, two of these symbols
are questioned, and rather than accept and adapt to the facts, 
rather than foresaking the illusion maintained by wearing the symbols,
the man kills himself to prevent the truth from being known!  And
now, presumably, the artificial reality suggested by the symbols is
to be taken as "the truth".  Of course, now I find myself wondering
just how much of the image of the grand Navy is being supported by
similar artificial realities asserted by the symbols, rituals, PR,
etc. that seems so much a part of Navy activity ... and dare we go
further and suggest that similar distortions are going on in other
branches of the military?  Other branches of government, such as
embassies, where prestige, standing, image, etc. are seen as very
important and which are marked by special symbols (medals, awards,
ceremonies, etc.)?  Ah, but perhaps I go too far ... ;-)

  A secondary aspect to consider is that of suicide in general.
Perhaps when a person has created a map of their situation, are
convinced that the map is accurate and fully describes their
condition, and they determine that there is no possibility for them
to be happy (or to escape) according to that map, suicide might
seem like an attractive option to some.  This is just a guess on
my part.  If this guess of mine is correct, then it would seem g.s.
practices may help preclude the suicide option.  If we know that
the map is _not_ the territory, that the map will never be perfectly
accurate, that the map will always miss little details and aspects
that might become important later, then perhaps we won't feel our
(understanding of our) situation to be so hopeless that ending our
life appears to be the only way out.  Just some food for thought ...

--
John McPherson (jmgs@lumina.ucsd.edu)
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