From a theoretical vantage point, the author looks at the thought processes & motivating factors that contribute to suicidal behavior. He examines the contribution of decision theory, the range of motives, the role of aggression & hope, suicide as path to glory or as a plea for love, distinctions between suicidal states & suicide, contagion in teenage suicides, the dynamics of acute onsets, partial & rational suicide, & finally, suicide as a defense against castration. (GW)