Kopioituva kuolema: itsemurhameeni ja holistinen ihmiskäsitys

Authors

• Jari Holopainen Geotieteiden ja maantieteen laitos, Helsingin yliopisto
• Samuli Helama Luonnonvarakeskus, Rovaniemi
• Timo Partonen Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos

Abstract

Replicative death: suicide meme and the holistic concept of man In this study, we examine the concept of the suicide meme in the context of the holistic concept of man by Lauri Rauhala. The term ‘meme’ was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins defined the meme as a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation and replication. Here, we show how the holistic concept of man can be applied in analysing the concept of the suicide meme and demonstrate how this meme can be used to better understand the idea of cultural transmissions of suicide. Rauhala has divided human existence into three basic dimensions: corporeality (existence as an organic process – as a body), consciousness (existence as grades and degrees of experiencing), and situationality (existence in relation to reality or personal situation). An intertwining of these human essences, a regulative situational circuit, can be used to show that each essence of human existence influences the nature of the remaining essences, and thus that a person’s life situation can be affected both negatively and positively. In this work, the suicide meme is defined as an idea that wells up from situationality into consciousness. In a negatively affected life situation, this idea can lead to a self-destructive act.