BEYOND CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS: the understanding of suicide from the perspective of existential phenomenological psychology

Abstract

This article is about suicide on the Phenomenological Existential Psychology perspective. The question that guides this study is: how does the Phenomenological Existential Psychology understands and analyses the suicide subject? The general goal of the article is to discuss the matter of the suicide under the heideggerian Phenomenological Existential Psychology’s view. The specific goals are: contextualize the suicide matter; to understand the finitude, death and autonomy categories; and analyse the discussion of moralization, blaming and pathologizing of the suicide. This is a narrative literature review that attempts to describe the development of such theme, through the analysis of scientific production. Starting with a statistical analysis and the different ways of understanding of the suicide, this article attempted to reach a deeper reflection about the existential matters about the phenomenon. Going through reflections about the meaning of finitude, using some ideas, such as anguish, freedom and choice, and also aspects involving matters of cause and motive. Lastly, we attempted to deepen the interpretations of traditional labelers that that remains about the ways of understanding the behavior of putting an end to one’s own life. With an emphasis for the moralizing view, of blaming and pathologizing. We hope that the discussions made can favor a point of view that encompasses the subjectivity and complexity of each existence regarding suicide.