"There are twice as many suicides in the US each year than murders."
I heard this startling stantement at the Freakonomics Radio. So I decided to write this post for two reasons. First, to recommend this podcast: The Suicide Paradox. It's really informative and depressive funny .
Freakonomics Radio: The Suicide Paradox.
Second, I woud like to recommend a book that I believe to be a masterpiece in Sociology. "Suicide: a study in Sociology" by Émile Durkheim (1858-1917). If you want to understand what Sociology is about and don't have anything else better to do , than you should read this book.
My favorite quote from this book is this one on suicide rate:
It "[...] express the suicidal tendency with which each society is collectively afflicted.... Every society is predisposed to produce a certain number of voluntary deaths." It sounds even better in Portuguese. "Cada sociedade está predisposta a fornecer um contingente determinado de mortes voluntárias"
in time: Greece sees suicide rates on the rise. Durkheim Would Have Predicted That One (by The Global Sociology Blog).
in time: Greece sees suicide rates on the rise. Durkheim Would Have Predicted That One (by The Global Sociology Blog).
soundtrack for this post: Titãs.