Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id KAA08860 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 20 Jan 2002 10:15:42 GMT Message-ID: <000b01c1a19b$cc227e60$f407bed4@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020117154149.02c48db0@pop.cogeco.ca> Subject: Re: playing at suicide Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 11:17:47 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Henson <hkhenson@cogeco.ca>
> At 02:20 PM 17/01/02 +0000, Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
> The key is that memes can take advantage of human psychological
mechanisms,
> particularly the attention reward pathway. We all are aware that
addictive
> drugs--which also take advantage of that pathway--can have natural
> selection effects as devastating to a person's genes as celibacy and
> suicide. So it should not be too much of a jump to consider a meme using
> the same pathway.
Hi Keith, Hi Vincent, Hi all,
Just in addition here, I mentioned a few days ago that in Belgium 2 girls
committed suicide by jumping fom the 10 floor of their building,.
One day later a 16 year old boy crashed to the floor of the Counts Castle
here in Ghent. On the Friday that followed a branch- director killed his
wife and son and committed than suicide.
In all 3 cases, we can say, fom a memetic point of view that the reward
consist out of ending the misery, the hazzards of life.
You have to understand that in the way a self- murderer thinks, ending
his own life for whatever reason, is the final chapter of a long book.
Genetic affects can play a role, but most of the time, their thinking
pathways ( memes) get in a sense short- circuited. Where we are able
to resolve our problems in a more rational way, self- murderers think
the other way round. The most ' rational ' thing to do is to kill
themselves.
And in the context of being the head of the family, man often take their
wife and children with them. Leaving them behind, alone in a dangerous
world is no option.
On the other hand, in cases where both parents kill their offspring and
then ' try ' to kill themselves, the thinking pathway is the following,
if we are ever able to start again with a family, in better times, we will.
But for the moment raising the children is no option. The attempt to
commit suicide is just a way of showing their remorse towards the
culture/ community which do not understand.
And just yesterday, a man killed his 5 children and the lover of his
ex- wife in a clear case of exteme jealousy and possessiviness.
To the police he decleared to have committed 7 murders, where only
6 bodies were found. By killing her children he ' murdered ' his wife.
Just to say, that if memes use our psychological pathways they can do
a lot of damage....
Regards,
Kenneth
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