In order to review progress in the field, this paper offers a bird’s eye view on the topic of suicidal behaviour as seen through the eyes of the investigator, the difficulties to parcel out various sources of knowledge, as well as the moral imperatives that govern an otherwise deep domain of psychiatry. The main message, at the end of the lecture, is that suicidality in its entirety is a field worthy of exploration for the psychiatrist, rich in nuances, & much more complex than a simple disorder of the mind. (33 refs.) JA