The current view of suicide continues to be strongly person-centered. Examining suicide from a cultural vantage point, 3 questions are suggested for investigation: 1) the internalization of the idea of suicide, 2) individual & collective vulnerability to this idea, & 3) the ‘great origin myth’ in suicidology. Although the act of killing oneself is ultimately that of the individual, it is argued that it is less a solo venture than a product of the collectivity of ideas. A deeper understanding of suicide will be realized through theory incorporating the dialectic of person & culture. (63 refs.)