ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a historical perspective on societal views of self-destruction. It explores the historical findings of A. Glick on self-destruction and delineates the theme of self-destruction as it appears specifically in depth psychology and existential-phenomenological psychology. Glick describes the origins of societal attitudes about self-destruction chronologically and into two prevalent belief patterns, the Greco-Roman and the Judaeo-Christian. The Greeks of the Homeric period thought of suicide as a natural and appropriate solution to a number of difficult situations. The Romans viewed self-destruction somewhat indifferently, yet considered it as a chosen validation of the way the individual lived and the principles he or she lived by. The Judaeo-Christian views of suicide were an expression of the religious and political leaders, rather than explicitly from material in the Old and New Testament. Nietzsche, arguably the first great depth psychologist, addressed the phenomenon of self-destruction through the themes of self-deception, self-knowledge, and spirituality.
