Suicide Deterrent: A Study of the “Red Telephone” Established at King’s County Hospital, Brooklyn, August 1963
Abstract
The etiology of the word suicide is uncertain. Webster defines it simply as self-murder, using the meanings of its two parts. Dublin and Bunzel believe it was suggested by the Latin suicist (selfish man) and suicism (selfishness) both of which hint at its early meaning. They define suicide as a "terminal act in a complicated psychic drama, and the final response which a human being makes to his inner emotional distress." St. Thomas Aquinas summarized the objections to taking one’s life: (1) suicide is against the natural love for self and against the instinct of self-preservation; (2) suicide is injurious to the community; (3) God alone has the judgment of life and death. Every individual needs love and in examining attempted suicides, the thought recurs that perhaps the individual hoped to be thwarted and thus assured of love and care.
Subject Area
Social work|Social research|Social studies education
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Nancy Lee, "Suicide Deterrent: A Study of the “Red Telephone” Established at King’s County Hospital, Brooklyn, August 1963" (1964). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30724983.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30724983
