Biological Fitness and the Social Ecololgy of Suicide (IN: Suicide and Self-Damaging Behavior: a Sociobiological Perspective)

This chapter discusses the sociobiological implications of suicide. The author details the motives for suicide in various cultures, outlines the marital status of suicide victims, & describes differences by sex & age. He concludes that people who commit suicide usually have impairments in their ability to be reproductive or productive (i.e., promoting related individuals’ welfare). Therefore, their deaths do not extract genes from the gene pool. (VM)